Hospital, hotel & car showroom sealed; Rs 7.06 crore tax dues collected in a single day

Indore: Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) sealed a hotel, a hospital and a car showroom and many other commercial establishments faced attachment and seizure proceedings during a revenue recovery campaign, targeting chronic tax defaulters with heavy dues pending for a long time, across the city on Wednesday. The civic body revenue teams executed a series of property seizures, attachments and sealings, collecting Rs 7.06 crore by the evening. The special drive, organised as a city-wide ‘Camp Day', saw IMC teams cracking down on several prominent commercial establishments that failed to clear their property and water tax dues.IMC commissioner Kshitij Singhal said, Mayur Hospital was sealed for outstanding dues amounting to Rs 12.05 lakh. Sanghi Toyota showroom was sealed due to long-pending arrears and Hotel Lords faced sealing action after failing to clear tax liabilities. Angara Restaurant was sealed for a debt of Rs 2.75 lakh, which was promptly settled by the owner to regain access. Besides, industrial units (Sanwer Road), including Nazmi Steam and Metal Pipe (the latter owing Rs 56.85 lakh), faced attachment and seizure proceedings.IMC revenue in-charge Niranjan Singh Chauhan and additional commissioner Shringar Srivastava said that the pressure of attachment led many owners to settle their dues on the spot. The owners of High Street Apollo and The Hub Building cleared Rs 48 lakh following seizure warnings, while Verjus Healthcare Limited handed over a cheque for Rs 20 lakh immediately after the recovery team initiated attachment proceedings on their premises.Action was also taken against Somesh Garden for dues exceeding Rs 10.92 lakh.By the end of the business day, the IMC processed 1,590 receipts from property and water tax defaulters. Officials indicated that the campaign was not over and teams will continue to work late into the night to meet their targets."The state govt has issued clear directives to maximise revenue collection. We are providing ample opportunity for citizens to pay, but strict action, including the sealing of premises is being taken against those who ignore repeated notices," said Chauhan.