NDMC revises health licence fee for eateries, fitness centres

New Delhi: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has issued an office order detailing the updated health licence fees for various establishments, including restaurants, fitness centres, hotels, eateries, shops, and kiosks.The council's decision comes in response to repeated requests from NDMC members to avoid implementing significant fee increases. Hence, NDMC has made small adjustments to fees across various categories.“The licence fee for regulation of various trades in NDMC areas under various sections of NDMC Act 1994 has been revised for financial year 2024-25 in accordance with the council’s resolution of Aug 2018,” stated the office order issued recently.For banquet halls, coffee shops, or restaurants with more than 50 seats, the annual fee has been raised from Rs 16,100 to Rs 16,300. For shops or restaurants with less than 50 seats, the fee has increased from Rs 8,000 to Rs 8,100. The fee for lodging houses with 100 or more beds has been raised from Rs 32,300 to Rs 32,600, and the fee for 5-star lodging hotels has been increased from Rs 80,600 to Rs 81,400.The licensing fee for theatres, circuses, and amusement places has also seen a slight increase. For cinema halls and dancing halls in hotels, the fee has been raised from Rs 8,000 to Rs 8,100.In addition to the annual fee applicable for granting and renewing health licences, the processing fees for new licences have also increased slightly. The processing fee is a one-time charge, levied at the time of granting a licence.The council has declared that it will impose a higher late fee for applications submitted after the April 30 deadline. “For applications for renewal received after April 30 and within one year from the date of expiry of the health licence, late fee charges @5% of licence fee per month will be charged. And for applications received for renewal a year after the expiry of the licence, the late fee will be double the annual licence fee for every expired year plus 5% licence fee per month for pending months, if any,” stated the council in its order.The health licence is issued for three years, and the fee is paid once in three years, after which the licence must be renewed. NDMC reviews or increases the health licence fee every year, and traders are required to submit their renewal applications by March 31.However, traders operating their business from rented shops argue that they cannot apply for a new health trade licence without clarity on the policy for issuing licences to rented shops. In response, officials asserted that obtaining health trade licences is unrelated to the monthly rent charged for the shops.