Jewellers told to pay Rs8.5 crore to PCMC

The Supreme Court has ordered 34 jewellers who had filed a case against the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) after they were issued notices for octroi evasion to pay 50% octroi amount amounting to Rs8.5 crore to the civic body.

In 2009, the PCMC had collected information from the sales tax department and it was found that the jewellers had evaded octroi of Rs16 crore. The PCMC issued notices to 64 jewellers and asked them to pay the evaded octroi and the fine. Thirty-four jewellers approached the court due to which the fine could not be collected. Now, the Supreme Court has asked these jewellers to pay Rs8.5 crore to PCMC, said assistant commissioner and octroi chief Ashok Mundhe.

The octroi department of the civic body had issued notices to jewellers to seek information about the amount of octroi paid on purchase of gold by them in 2009-10.

The octroi department had received information from the sales tax department that jewellers in PCMC area had paid sales tax of Rs1,218 crore for their gold purchases in 2009-10. The jewellers had to pay Rs24.37 crore octroi, but if they did not pay, then they would have to pay the octroi as well as 10 times the evaded octroi as fine.

The octroi department collects 2% of the value of gold as octroi from jewellers who bring gold into the municipal limits.