The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) continues to seal the shops at Connaught Place, which fail to pay the tax. Earlier last week, NDMC sealed five properties. Out of five properties, three were apparel stores, including the 143-year-old Mohanlal & Sons, and the rest were one office and a cafe at Connaught Place in the National Capital for non-payment of property taxes.
According to an NDMC officer, five units were sealed, and those that had made partial payments were allowed to continue their operations. “The sealing drive in Connaught Place will continue in the coming days. Many of the top tax defaulters in the New Delhi area are located in Connaught Place, with 150 units having an estimated pendency of approximately Rs 1,950 crore,” the official said.
He added that the New Delhi area has around 1,500 long-term defaulters, with arrears amounting to Rs 3,500 crore. He further said that tax payments have not been made by properties over several years due to disputes between landlords and tenants. This week, NDMC sealed five outlets in B block: Levi’s, Nike Immigrant Cafe, one office, and 143-year-old Mohanlal & Sons.
The Sunday Guardian visited these stores and tried to interact with the workers of these stores. A worker at Levi’s told the Sunday Guardian that officers of NDMC came and sealed their stores and said that they couldn’t open the store till their owner cleared the tax dues. He added, “We do not know when the shop will open again.” A lady employee requested anonymity and said that a group of NDMC officers came and sealed the property without giving them enough time to react and gave them notice to pay the tax dues.
NDMC vice chairman Satish Upadhyay told the media that the pendency is very large and NDMC cannot run if people don’t pay their due taxes. “What can NDMC do if people are not paying taxes for years on end? There are disputes between the tenants and property owners. The tenants say that they have paid tax and owners don’t pay tax; then where should the NDMC go?” said Upadhyay.
He further said that consultations were ongoing. “Are shops being sealed without any reason? NDMC and MCD have attached the accounts of government departments in the past for non-payment of taxes as well. We agree with their demand for the application of the unit area method so that a uniform tax regime can be applicable across the city. We are not against any business or traders.”
Viney Bahl, Treasurer of the New Delhi Traders Association, told The Sunday Guardian that the association is objecting to the way NDMC seals the properties. NDMC is not following the processes of recovery and has started sealing the properties.
He added, “We have demanded that a uniform tax assessment system should be brought into effect as there is a problem in the tax assessment system.” He further said NDMC is avoiding us and not interacting with us. “We tried to contact the vice chairman of the NDMC last Sunday, but he is not interested in interacting with us,” said Bahl.