The falling rupee and the dip in the amount of crude oil imported into city has taken a toll on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) octroi collection, which is a major source of revenue for the civic body. Octroi means entry tax.
At Rs5,107 crore, the total collection between April 1, 2013, and January 3, 2014, is 12% less than the target of Rs5,804 crore set by the corporation.
Officials from the assessor and collector department said that considering the current trend, it’s unlikely that the BMC will be able to meet the target of Rs7,200 crore set for the financial year 2013-14. “There have been differences earlier in the collection and target amounts, but they were never more than 10%,” said a senior official from the department.
The official added that with just three months left in the financial year, it seems highly unlikely that the civic body will be able to meet the target of Rs7,200. “A major impact on the octroi collection was the crude oil imports by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, which recorded a fall due to the restrictions imposed by the Union government. The global slowdown too has contributed to the dip in collection,” explained the official.
In 2012-13, the civic body collected Rs6,771 crore from octroi, an increase of 10% as compared with the previous year. “The total estimated collection has been seeing a continuous increase for the past four financial years, with crude oil being a major contributor to it. However, this fiscal, other factors, such as slump in housing and construction activities in city, have also affected the octroi collection,” said the official.
This fiscal, the civic body has been collecting Rs15 crore on an average every day from octroi. “Given the past record, the collection usually increases in the last three months of the financial year. If the crude oil imports improve, we hope to collect around Rs7,000 crore,” said a senior civic official, adding that decrease in the collection will have an impact on projects in the next budget.
Lagging behind the target set
At Rs5,107 crore, the total collection between April 1, 2013 and January 3, 2014 is 12% less than the target of Rs5,804 crore set by the corporation
The overall target set by the BMC for this financial year is Rs7,200 crore
Besides rupee and oil imports, the civic body has cited slump in housing and construction activities in city for the dip in octroi collection
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