Rejecting the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC)’s clarification on the collection of tolls and utilities fees, a local pressure group –– People for Democratic Rights (PDR) –– Wednesday maintained that DMC’s justification to collect tolls and urban utility fees would not change the reality of one nation, one tax regime of GST.
On Tuesday, DMC administrator Moa Sangtam clarified that the government has neither made any changes in the rate nor empowered the lessees to hike the fee.
PDR through its media & publicity affairs asserted that DMC could collect such tolls/items and utility fees only after the amendment of GST law to allow such collection by urban local bodies.
PDR also supported the stand of Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) and Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) that collection at check gates and highways and tolls on all items should be stopped since the state was already under GST regime.
Taking exception to a joint meeting of DMC and Naga Council Dimapur (NCD) on the issue, the PDR said DMC chose to separately meet the NCD and resolved to continue with the old rates for tolls while completely ignoring DCCI, parent body for business establishments in Dimapur including Hardware Merchants’ Association Dimapur District (HMADD), which first raised the issue.
Raising its concern over lease system, PDR said with what moral authority would Public Action Committee of NCD (which was formed to tackle the menace of multiple taxation) monitor the activities of the lessees under DMC when GST regime covered all taxes.
Stating that tolls and urban utility fees clearly amounted to double taxation, PRD said PAC was expected to take a strong stand on any sort of double/multiple taxation no matter how much the government agencies attempted to justify collecting tolls. “It is also surprisingly how the Naga Council Dimapur (NCD) which has a recorded history of vehemently opposing the lease system agreed with the DMC about the lease system and to continue with collection of taxes as per old rates,” PRD stated.
Stating that strong opposition from the civil society groups in the past had prevented the government from introducing lease system in DMC, the PDR, however, said today it “wonders about the reasons for the stoic silence of these organizations when the government was in the process of introducing lease system and already introduced now thus creating problems such as the one raised by the Hardware Merchants’ Association Dimapur.”
Meanwhile, PDR has lauded NVCO for pressing the government on several occasions to effectively execute the common judgement & order dated June 3, 2014 passed by the Gauhati High Court that banned all sorts of collections/donations at check gates and highways.