CP traders may move court, civic body says tax raids will continue

A day after the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) sealed seven properties in Connaught Place for non-payment of property tax, the civic body on Thursday said that the drive will continue in the coming days, even as the traders' association said it was planning to move court.

- Paras Singh

The civic body hinted that the drive may be extended to other markets in the New Delhi area, saying that they have identified 1,500 tax defaulters in the area who owe 3,500 crore in tax dues. The traders have called the action arbitrary, alleging that NDMC had been using different ways of calculating tax leading to discrepancies.

"Around 1,500 tax defaulters across markets in New Delhi have total pending dues of ₹3,500 crore. Just the top 100 defaulters owe the civic body ₹1,500 crore. These long-term defaulters have been provided multiple opportunities to clear their dues for over a year but they have failed to pay. Some of these pending cases go back to 2009," an official of the civic body said, asking not to be named.

On Wednesday, NDMC sealed seven properties in Connaught Place over non-payment of property tax dues. Teams from the tax department covered shops located in D, A and L blocks. Among the shops sealed on Thursday were an outlet of a popular ice-cream brand and Alka hotel and office of an architect and other premises.