Excise office fails to pay rent, power cut

The power supply to an office of the central excise and custom department at Udyog Vihar has been snapped after it failed to pay the dues of around R4.5 crore to the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC).

The power supply to an office of the central excise and custom department at Udyog Vihar has been snapped after it failed to pay the dues of around R4.5 crore to the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC).

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The excise department has not paid the rent it owes to the HSIIDC for a period extending more than two years. The department’s Gurgaon office runs from a building owned by the HSIIDC, which is the promoter of the Udyog Vihar industrial township.

The electricity supply was disconnected on Tuesday morning after attempts to recover the rent failed, said a senior official of HSIIDC.
While the excise commissioner, Gurgaon, Sanjay Agarwal, refused to comment on the issue, the HSIIDC official said this was “only the first step” towards the “defaulting” department.

The building also houses the office of the income tax department. “The income tax department too owes us a huge sum. However, it has assured us to pay it soon. So, we have not initiated any action against it.”

The official said that the corporation would be forced to take stringent action against other defaulters of the township if they didn’t pay heed to requests and notices.