NDITA to honour highest taxpayers

Kolkata: The Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority said it will felicitate the person who pays the highest tax and post his or her name on NDITA’s website.

The move is aimed at collecting more property tax for fiscal 2017, which ends March 31.

“We are optimistic that this method will motivate taxpayers to quickly clear their dues,” NDITA chairman Debashis Sen said.

A senior NDITA official said action can be taken against those who do not pay property taxes on time. But the legal process is lengthy. “So we have introduced this technique,” he said.

Mr Sen held a special meeting with the top 40 tax defaulters from New Town Thursday, and asked them to clear dues by March 31. Sources in NDITA said that Rs 20 crore worth property tax is due.

“Some top IT/ITeS companies, hotels and food chains are yet to pay taxes. They were told that the matter of partial exemptions for IT/IteS, if applicable, would be pursued with the income-tax department,” the official said.

“But till such time the exemption is granted, they are liable to pay the amount demanded,” the official added. Some company officials who said at the meeting that they did not get demand notice were immediately given fresh copies.

“I appealed to them to pay up not only to avoid penalty and interest but also fund the ambitious programmes taken up by NDITA in New Town,” Mr Sen said.

NDITA is constructing a town hall, a multi-storey car parking, food courts, scientific road signs for motorists and taking overhead cables underground.