Nagpur: Following the directives by Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started action of removing hoardings as the advertising agencies failed to clear Rs 7 crore pending dues for years.
Notably, NMC completes the tender process for advertisements at public places. The advertising agency that bagged the tender can put up hoarding at the place marked by NMC. Under Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, the agency putting up hoardings has to pay licence fees. But the agency had not cleared the dues amounting to Rs 7 crore. Despite sending notices, the agency failed to take note of this. Instead, the agency moved the High Court. Following which the court granted the advertising agencies temporary relief. But the NMC argued by referring to the provisions in the law regarding licence fees. Subsequently, the High Court lifted the stay and paved the way for NMC to remove hoardings of the adverting agency.
In Nagpur City, there are 80 advertising agencies and dues of Rs 7 crore are pending against them.
In April 2022, the High Court had directed Nagpur Municipal Corporation not to take coercive action against the advertising agencies who have installed hoardings for eight weeks. The court directive came after M/s Signpost India Private Limited and 23 other advertising agencies approached the High Court challenging the action of NMC against them in connection with the increased licence fees.
The challenge raised in this writ petition is to the levy of Advertisement/Licence Fee by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, which according to the petitioners, is without any authority of law in view of deletion of Entry 55 from the Union List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India pursuant to the 101st Amendment Act, 2016. The Court had passed an order on October 25, 2021, without granting an opportunity of hearing to the NMC. By this order the court had stayed action against the advertising agencies.
