BMC to get Rs 600 crore for loss of octroi today

Mumbai: In a bid to end the uncertainty over the compensation for octroi loss, finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar will hand over the first instalment of Rs 600 crore to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday.

In a special event to be held at the BMC headquarters, the finance minister will hand over the cheque to mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar and the civic chief Ajoy Mehta. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is likely to be present on the occasion.

“Mr Mungantiwar will hand over the cheque to the civic body for the likely loss of its octroi revenues. This will end the uncertainty over whether the BMC will get the compensation from the state government on time or not,” said BJP corporator
Manoj Kotak.

From July 1, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) has replaced the octroi system, which was the biggest source of revenues for the civic body.

With collections over Rs 7000 crore octroi contribute to about 40 per cent to the civic body’s annual income. “The first instalment, to be given by the state government, is basically a guarantee amount for the octroi loss the BMC will face after the implementation of GST regime. The state government is likely to deposit the civic body’s monthly share in municipal coffers every month,” said a senior civic official.

The central government has decided to dispense GST share to civic bodies according to their octroi collections.

In the year 2016-17, against the target of Rs 6,850 crore, the civic body has collected revenues of Rs 7,300 crore from octroi.