Bhopal: No budget to pay service tax, governor house tells BMC

Bhopal: The governor house has said that it has no budget to pay service tax to Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC). Governor house stated this in a reply when Corporation sent notice to recover three years of service tax from it.

A BMC official wishing anonymity said that governor house owes service tax worth Rs 19 lakh to BMC. When Free Press contacted public relations officer at governor house, he said his office has no information about it. Special Armed Forces (SAF) unit also owes service tax dues worth Rs 10 lakh to BMC. Its officials also expressed ignorance when asked about non-payment of tax dues.

When contacted, Mayor Alok Sharma said that it is easy to collect taxes from private bodies but we find it difficult to recover it from government organisations. “We are planning ways to recover due from government agencies,” he said. Deputy municipal commissioner Archana Sharma said that dues have escalated as whenever recovery notice is sent, it gets stuck in objections.

Bhopal Municipal Corporation has to recover tax dues worth Rs 32 crore from Habibganj railway station. Railway officials, when contacted, said that responsibility lies with Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) and not with them to clear dues.

Bhopal Development Authority (BDA) has also not paid taxes worth Rs 16 crore to BMC. The BDA officials said that BMC charges for properties, which the Authority no longer owns. “But we are in talks with BMC and we will sort the issue out soon,” a BDA official said.