F’bad: At least 61 banquet halls sealed for not clearing taxes

Faridabad's Municipal Corporation sealed 61 banquet halls for over ₹3 crore in unpaid taxes, with more actions planned against defaulters.

At least 61 banquet halls and venues have been sealed by the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) over the last few weeks for not clearing taxes pending for more than a year, said officials on Thursday.

According to officials, around 131 venues were sent multiple notices since the past few months.

According to officials, around 131 venues were sent multiple notices since the past few months.

MCF commissioner Dhirendra Khadagta told HT that taxes worth at least ₹3 crore are pending from these 131 properties.

“Around 61 banquet halls have been sealed so far due to non-payment of taxes. These properties had arrears of a year or more. These notices are issued as warnings to pay their dues before the financial year ends. After that, strict action will be taken against them,” said zonal taxation officer Sanjay Chaprana.

According to the list of defaulters, seen by HT, the maximum number of venues are present in NIT Zone-II, where 35 units have outstanding dues of approximately ₹ 2.67 crore. 12 units are present in Old Zone-I, having outstanding dues of ₹36,00,000, and 14 units in Old Zone-II have outstanding dues of over ₹15,00,000 .

However, one defaulter from the list, Kings Valley Banquets, located on Suraj Kund road, said they had shut operations five years ago and were unaware of any pending taxes. According to the company, the venue of the hall was demolished over two years ago.

When asked about the matter, Chaprana said that the location existed as per MCF’s official records, but in case the owner claims they have shut operations, they can raise a grievance with the authorities online and the MCF will resolve the matter.

Chaprana said the MCF had collected approximately ₹97 crore in property tax for the current financial year, almost double the collection last year.