MCH fails to collect fee from all traders

hyderabad: the municipal corporation of hyderabad's (mch) attempts to collect trade licence fee from 80,000 traders in the city have not been fully successful. only 55 per cent of them have paid the fee in the special drive for collection of trade licence fee. the only encouraging thing is that mch has collected rs 4.75 crore this year compared to rs 3.74 crore last year.the corporation recently conducted a survey on trade and establishments in the city through a private agency which showed that there were more than 80,000 traders in the city. mch additional commissioner (health & sanitation) d jaganath rao said the target of the corporation was to collect more than rs 7 crore as trade licence fee this year. he said the trade licence fee would become a major source of revenue for the mch if it was able to collect it from all the traders. according to an estimate this would fetch mch more than rs 20 crore. if many traders were not paying the tax, it was also because of lack of awareness, difficult procedures and time consuming processes. there have been representations from several trade associations for setting up hassle free procedures for paying the trade licence fee. this led mch to set up special counters in all the seven circle offices for the collection of trade licence fee. computerised coding of all trades and operations, simplifying and streamlining the procedures for issue of licences and their renewals were carried out. the mch had also created five central enforcement squads headed by assistant licensing officer, which make surprise checks on tax evaders. people having shops in cellars are not paying trade licence fee because they are not supposed to carry out trade activities in cellars. whole-sale cloth merchants do not pay trade licence fee as they have got stay order from the court on the pretext that their trade does not create any problems to others like noise pollution, air pollution or gas emissions. any trade or operation, which in the opinion of commissioner of the mch is dangerous to life, health or property or likely to create nuisance have to pay trade licence fee.