Signboards show BCC swindled Rs 765 cr

Sudha Pillai / TNN / Jul 19, 2004, 02:04 IST

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BANGALORE: In a huge scam involving BCC officials, taxes on shop signboards worth at least Rs 765 cr have been siphoned off over the last 4 years.

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">BANGALORE: In a huge scam involving Bangalore city corporation (BCC) officials, taxes on shop signboards worth at least Rs 765 crore have been siphoned off over the last four years. The facts are damning: officials at no level have a clue on how many shops are actually there in any area; there is no clarity in records; tax amounts are imposed at whim; and collection is essentially done on how much is "given" to the tax collector concerned. What blew the lid off the scam is a complaint filed with the Lok Ayukta on July 8, 2004.It charges BCC officials with "collusion in tax evasion and cheating the government." The complaint (No.COMPT/ LOK/ BLD/ 174/ 2004) charges the then BCC commissioner M R Sreenivasa Murthy, special commissioner Subhash Chandra, and deputy director (advertising) A Lokesh with corruption and dereliction of duty. As per the complaint, Bangalore has an estimated 15 lakh sq mtrs of shop front area, available for shop signs and advertisements. With all shop signboards (except one self-hoarding and tin board) taxable under the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, revenue should have been Rs 765 crore between 2000 and 2004, it adds. But, Subash Chandra feels the figures are incorrect. The ad tax rate for shop signs is Rs 50 per sq mt/month plus 15 per cent health cess. Some shop owners claim they pay more for neon signboards, a charge refuted by Lokesh. </div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"> What is the actual area of shop signs in the city? Lokesh gives an "unofficial estimateâ€� of around 4 lakh sq mtrs. This assumption should yield revenue of Rs 240 crore/annum. But, according to Subhash Chandra, revenue on shops signs for 2002-03 is Rs 1.35 crore, while the state audit report says it is about Rs 3.44 crore. "We are still in the process of collecting information,â€� says Subhash Chandra. It took The Times of India less than 45 minutes to manually calculate the area of shop signs in five constituencies as per the (poorly) recorded details in the Demand and Collection Book (DCB), 2001-03. The books show a meagre and "approximate" figure of 641 shops in this sprawling city, which pay tax on signboards. What makes it worse is that the number differs from the audit report, which states that 129 shops have paid tax. When the discrepancies are pointed out, an official says: "Tax is being collected, but accounts are not being maintained due to shortage of accountants.â€� A cross-section of shop owners in the city contend that the money collected doesn''t reach the BCC coffers. Besides, official sources admit there has been no auditing from 1997 till 2001 and a half-hearted attempt thereon. Lok Ayukta Justice N Venkatachala, who issued a showcause notice to all officials concerned, says: "It is possible that these things are happening due to improper records. We will get to the bottom of it.â€�</div> </div>

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