Goa: Banks, petrol pumps under scanner as Margao CO initiates drive to mop up additional revenue

Financial institutions, including banks, mobile towers and petrol pumps have all come under the scanner of Margao Municipal Chief Officer as the municipal body has initiated a drive to mop up additional revenue and enrich its coffers.

In separate directions, Margao Municipal Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes has urged various municipal sections to conduct surveys of the financial institutions, petrol pumps and mobile towers, and bring them under the tax net.

In an order to the Taxation section, the Chief Officer drew the attention of the officials that financial institutions running on rented premises are not paying the property tax and advertisement fees, signboards displayed on their premises, besides trade licenses.

He pointed out that some of the banking institutions are running ATM counters without a valid trade license. In this order, the taxation officials have been authorized to visit each of the banking and financial institutions and obtain the Leave Agreements from them. They have been further authorized to survey the ATM counters, number of signboards and advertisement boards put in the municipal jurisdiction.

The team has been told to submit the survey report within 10 days.

In another order, the Chief Officer has directed the taxation section to survey the petrol pumps which have been carrying out additional, but an unauthorized business without obtaining the mandatory trade license.

The survey report is to be completed and submitted within three days.

In yet another order to the Taxation section, the Chief Officer has directed the Municipal Junior engineers to conduct a physical survey of the mobile towers that have come up in their respective wards.

They have been told to verify whether the towers have come up with a license, the validity of the license and the number of connections issued by the towers.

The issue over the mobile towers had figured at the budget meeting of the Margao Municipal Council last month, wherein City Fathers had demanded a survey of all the mobile towers to find out whether they are paying the fees and to bring them under the tax net.

Meanwhile, Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes has directed the municipal inspectors to crack a whip against the roadside vendors squatting along the Station Road from 6 pm to 8 pm and from 1 pm to 3 pm.

In another note put up for the market inspectors, the Chief Officer has issued directions to survey all the unauthorized shops carrying illegal business in ward no 6 of the Margao Municipal Council. They have been told to submit the report within 10 days.

(This news is reported by The Goan. To read more GOA news visit The Goan)