Octroi will go, CM tells trade bodies

After Punjab and Gujarat’s decision to abolish octroi, Maharashtra is under tremendous pressure to abolition the same in State. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Tuesday assured the representation made by the various chambers of commerce that his government will take a decision in the matter immediately after gathering the required consensus.

Representatives from Indian Merchant Chamber, Maratha Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM) met Deshmukh at Mantralaya with their demand for immediate abolition of octroi. Deshmukh said that a committee, under the leadership of Principal Secretary of Urban Development department, will be set up and a decision taken based on its suggestions.

The representatives from the delegation said Maharashtra was the only state with octroi after Gujarat announced its abolishing a couple of months ago. Former Sicom president Subhash Dandekar, who co-ordinated the meeting with the CM, said an Account-Based Entry Taxation would be the ideal option to the octroi. “The option, being implemented in Navi Mumbai, has not led to any loss of revenue,” he said.

A few of the delegation members complained of the interference of  corporators on octroi posts, to which Deshmukh assured them that the State will not tolerate such interference.