The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has issued an order integrating property tax payments with general trade and storage licence fees, a move aimed at simplifying compliance for traders.
Background of the Decision
The development comes after traders raised the matter with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday, while another delegation met MCD Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar on Saturday, pointing out that the required changes were yet to appear on the civic body’s portal.
Traders said that as the revised charges were not visible on the website, it was preventing them from getting the benefit of the scheme. MCD officials said that the IT department has been requested to make changes in the property tax portal and the process will take time.
Concerns Raised by Traders
Kamla Nagar Traders’ Association President Nitin Gupta said the traders were uncertain due to the delay in implementation. “April 30 was the last date for licence renewal. Since there was no clarity on MCD’s decision, most traders renewed their licences at much higher rates to avoid penalties. Even now, no changes are visible on the website and there is no clarity on how much time the civic body will take to operationalise the system,” he said.
He also pointed out that despite an earlier announcement in June to abolish the requirement for separate health trade licences, no action has been taken so far.
Details of the Office Order
In an office order issued by the Additional Commissioner of the Central Licensing and Enforcement Cell, MCD said the process for issuance of general trade licences (GTL) under Section 417 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, has been simplified.
“However, the requirement of a separate application and issuance mechanism continues to impose an avoidable compliance burden on citizens. Since every property owner or occupier is liable to pay property tax and is uniquely identified through a UPIC number, it has been decided to integrate the levy and collection of GTL fee with the property tax payment system. The receipt generated upon such payment shall be treated as a valid GTL,” the order stated.
Implementation and Fee Structure
The deemed licence will remain valid for a financial year, subject to compliance with all laws, including pollution control norms, fire safety requirements and other statutory clearances from competent authorities. The GTL fee has been fixed at 15% of the property tax amount.
Chamber of Trade and Industry Chairman Brijesh Goyal said the corporation has linked the licence fee to property categories ranging from A to H.
