The civic body has to recover Rs30.33 crore as tax from advertisers.
Cash-strapped Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is contemplating desperate measures to net over `30.33 crore from advertisers but the civic body has found to its embarrassment that some government departments top the defaulters’ list.
The civic body, which is supposed to get around `40 crore per year as tax from advertisers, managed to generate only `2 crore during 2010-11.
According to statistics, the BBMP has to get `6.92 crore from advertisements on road dividers, `17.02 crore from ads on bus shelters, `2.32 crore from railway department, `33.55 lakh from infant advertisement, `37.43 lakh from the BMTC, `6.09 lakh from Ripple Media, a BMTC initiative, and `24.08 lakh from ads on police umbrellas. These and other pending payments total `30.33 crore.
Both private advertisers and government departments are not responding to the BBMP’s requests to pay up.
For example, from 2005 to date, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has not provided any details to the BBMP for the advertisements for which it had given tenders. So on November 18, 2011, BBMP joint commissioner (health) YM Ramachandra Murthy, who is in charge of the advertisement department, wrote a letter to the BMTC, stating that it had given permission to display advertisements on buses. Therefore, BMTC has to pay tax. Similarly, a letter has been shot off to Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation as well.
Sources said the advertisers will get stay orders from the court if the BBMP sends notices and threatens to remove hoardings.
“Advertising companies have filed around 200 suits, covering 1,400 hoardings, asking the court’s permission for not removing their advertisements. As per the court’s directive, the BBMP can only collect dues; it cannot remove advertisements,” a source said.
Murthy said the civic body is sending notices to all the advertisement agencies which have evaded tax. He added that the BBMP is planning to blacklist the agencies that do not pay up.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}