A day after BMC asked Sushmita Sen to pay penalty of Rs 25 lakh for evasion of octroi, it is the turn of a trader, dealing with Nokia, to feel the heat.
Octroi drive raised additional Rs18 crore last year: BMC
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is stepping up the heat on octroi defaulters. A day after the civic body asked actor Sushmita Sen to pay penalty of Rs 25 lakh for deliberate evasion of octroi duty, it is the turn of a trader – dealing with telecom major Nokia – to feel the heat. Hiralal Sanghavi of Lalit Traders has been asked to pay up Rs 27.33 lakh instead of Rs 2.48 lakh for allegedly evading duty.
Hiralal Sanghavi allegedly brought Nokia’s latest model phones from Pandharpur on a train. On March 18, the bundles of phones were thrown in between CST and Masjid Railway station at 3.30 am. The cost of the phones cost Rs 45 lakh and the octroi amount was Rs 2.48 lakh. But they did not pay any money,” said Chief Vigilance Officer (Special Duty) Madhukar Wade. “We got a tip-off and recovered Nokia phones form the party. We charged 10 times penalty – Rs 27.33 lakh – from the trader,” he added. “The trader has moved court and the matter is in court,” said Wade.
Accessory and Collector B Umbaraje said the BMC had fined 10 times penalty in more than 3000 cases and collected additional Rs 18 crore last year. Umbaraje said 10-time penalty had been levied for three offences – Under Invoice, Wrong Declaration, and Non-Declaration of octroi.
A senior BMC officer said the BMC had set an example for citizens by not distinguishing between a common man and a film personality like Sen. A heated debate ensued when Sen was received with a bouquet of flowers by a BMC officer when she came for her hearing. This is the first time a huge report on octroi evasion had been made.
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