Expressing serious concerns over the State government’s plan to increase trade licence fee and khata charges, FKCCI said such a move was being talked about at a time when the trade body has been demanding the abolition of trade licence under the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act.

According to FKCCI president C.R. Janardhana, small and medium businesses are having a tough time and several thousands of shops and establishments have closed down in Karnataka after the pandemic hit their supply chain and earnings.

“At this juncture, any increase in the licence fee, khata charges, development fee etc., will further hurt traders. The trade is already facing a lot of harassment through such licences and all these will only lead to further leakage of revenue,”' he warned the State government and local administration in a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary and Commissioner BBMP. One of the areas where BBMP could mobilise huge resources is through Akrama Sakrama by making the existing rules more stringent, he suggested.

“This is the time when the enforcement agencies should think of ‘ease of doing business’ than making the business costly. The traders have already opposed the move as a retrograde step at this juncture. The trade is already suffering due to the lack of customers, boycott of China products and many other reasons such as restrictions on social events, festivals etc,” he further wrote.