Cesu, Idco and works dept biggest holding tax defaulters

BHUBANESWAR: Three prime agencies of the state government - the Central Electricity Supply and Utility (Cesu), the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) and the works department - are major defaulters of holding tax, officials said.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is making a last-minute effort to mop some holding tax as the end of the financial year looms, disclosed that the dues of the three agencies together amounted to around Rs 12 crore.

The Cesu and Idco have dues of around Rs 7 crore while the works department is yet to pay Rs 5 crore.

Two days ago, the works department's dues were around Rs 8 crore but it managed to deposit Rs 3 crore in the meanwhile, said BMC deputy commissioner Srimanta Mishra.

So far, the BMC has collected Rs 23 crore as holding tax. It has set a target to generate Rs 45 crore from holding tax by the end of March.

"We are giving regular reminders to government and private agencies, asking them to pay their dues at the earliest. We will not fall short of the target," Mishra said.

On January 17, the civic body had slapped a red-letter notice (a final warning) to 284 people, including owners of houses, firms and institutions, for failing to pay holding tax. It had given them time till March 31 to pay up or face the Odisha Public Demand Recovery Act, 1972, which mandates institution of cases against defaulting individuals and recovery of dues by confiscation of property.

"The red-letter notice helped us collect around Rs 10 crore in dues," said an officer.

Holding tax is an important revenue component and is collected from individual, private and government agencies on the basis of the plinth area of the house, shops, commercial establishments, educational institutions and office buildings. In the last fiscal, it generated about Rs 35 crore for the civic body.

Works secretary Nalini Pradhan said they would pay the remaining dues within the stipulated time.

"We have calculated the dues and I have instructed the officers concerned to clear them before March is over," the secretary told TOI.