Ghaziabad civic body proposes 13 new activities under trade licence

Different activities like gyms, beauty parlour, coaching centres, spa centres, branded item showrooms etc., have emerged across the city over a period of time and the civic body plans to bring in by-laws to govern them

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation is likely to bring 13 different commercial establishments such as gyms and parlours under the ambit of trade licences, and a proposal to this effect will be discussed in the board meeting on Tuesday, officials aware of the development said.

The officer added that 13 different establishments will be required to pay an annual licence fee ranging from ₹2,000 to 20,000 once the by-laws get finalised. The matter will be considered by the Ghaziabad civic body on Tuesday during its board meeting. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

In 1997, the trade licences were levied on 39 different activities as per government order. Now, with the development of more amenities, the civic body intends to bring 13 more of such activities under the tax ambit, they said.

According to Sanjeev Sinha, corporation’s chief tax assessment officer, different activities like gyms, beauty parlour, coaching centres, spa centres, branded item showrooms etc., have emerged across the city over a period of time.

“In the proposal, the agency has proposed to bring by-laws for these activities. Thereafter, after inviting public objections, the levying of tax will be initiated,” he said.

The officer added that 13 different establishments will be required to pay an annual licence fee ranging from ₹2,000 to 20,000 once the by-laws get finalised.

If the proposal goes through, activities like gyms will have to pay up fees of ₹2,000-5000 while beauty parlours will be required to pay between ₹2,000 to 4,000 annually. The spas may be required to pay up ₹3,000 branded showrooms may have to pay up anything from ₹3,000 to 5,000, depending on the category of the showrooms, officials added.

According to official estimates, there are about 1,000-1,200 such 13 activities going on under the jurisdiction of the municipal-corporation area in Ghaziabad.

Traders, however, believe that the corporation should consider not bringing the small businesses under tax ambit that are not faring well since the pandemic.

“…the decision to levy tax should be reconsidered, at least against small businesses,” said Rajnish Bansal, chairman of Turab Nagar (market) Vyapar Mandal, an association of city traders.