Now, NMC’s Assistant Commissioner of Octroi (LBT) Deptt Mahesh Dhamecha says: LBT is not a new tax
Nagpur News: Fashion has got a new name: Don’t be shocked or surprised. The much debated and, holding citizens to ransom, the controversial Local Body Tax (LBT) issue is making headlines by confusing statements of many eminent personalities including top bosses of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), traders’ community, political top guns and others on daily basis without fail since the LBT enforcement took place from April 1. Now, issuing whimsical and fancy statements on the LBT has become a fashion of sort for these personalities.
The fresh example to corroborate the fact is the statement of NMC’s Assistant Commissioner of Octroi (LBT) Department. The Indian Medical Association (IMA), keeping in mind the uproar by the enraged social organization Jan Akrosh and the traders who are vociferously protesting the LBT enforcement by Maharashtra Government in place of octroi indefinitely, has organized a public debate at its hall on North Ambajhari Road on Thursday (May 2).
The NMC’s Assistant Commissioner of Octroi (LBT) Department Mahesh Dhamecha, who was part of the debate, asserted that the LBT is not a new tax. “It has only replaced the Octroi duty till now paid by the traders, business community, industries and other concerned establishments. The common people would not be put to loss and would not suffer any difficulty by enforcement of LBT. In comparison, the essential goods and other materials have become cheaper thus benefiting the common citizens and, traders, too,” claimed Dhamecha.
Dhamecha further said, the LBT system is not difficult. The only difficulty is the misleading statements on LBT by the protesting traders or other concerned personalities from various fields.
Speaking on behalf of traders’ community the former President of Nag Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce (NVCC) Praful Doshi directly charged Maharashtra Government with trying to wage a split between the traders and the common people. “The Maharashtra Government had promised while increasing the Value Added Tax (VAT) by one per cent in 2007 and cancelling the Octroi duty. The Gujarat and the Punjab Governments have dumped the Octroi totally. But the Maharashtra Government “cleverly” is trying to retain Octroi in the name LBT. The breach of trust has forced to the traders to take the path of agitation on the crucial issue,” thundered Praful Doshi.
Ashok Trivedi, Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, accused the Maharashtra Government of double standards by enforcing LBT and not cancelling octroi as promised and also indulging in misinformation to common people regarding the vital LBT issue. He recalled that the Central Government, while enforcing the VAT in 2004, had promised single window tax system in the entire country. But unfortunately, the Government totally failed to keep its promise on the issue.
The following personalities present on the occasion include IMA President Varsha Dhoble, VIA President Praful Doshi, President of Jan Akrosh Ashok Laddhad, Business Editor Sopan Pandharipande, Assistant Commissioner of NMC’s LBT Department Mahesh Dhamecha, and Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat Ashok Trivedi and others.
MOTOR PARTS SHOWROOMS SUPPORT AGITATION: A meeting of Nagpur Motor Parts Association was held in the backdrop of agitation over LBT. All motor parts showroom owners participated in the meeting. The President of the Association Inderpal Oberoy apprised the motor parts shop owners about the serious problems arised by enforcement of LBT. All the motor parts shop owners shouted slogans against Government for the LBT and proposed to keep their shops closed till the LBT is withdrawn by the Government. The Association has also sent a letter to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in this regard. A large number of automobile dealers were present on the occasion.
