Mohali MC to take up tax waiver to QuarkCity

Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, February 20

The Punjab Government and the Mohali Municipal Corporation are likely to come face to face on the issue of waiving property tax of the QuarkCity India Private Limited project at the Phase 8 Industrial Area here.

In Clause 10 of Schedule 2 of its agreement with the company, the state government has undertaken not to impose any land or building tax in the project area for a period of 10 years from the date of completion of its units. Clause 12 of Schedule 2 of the agreement “allows exemption of property tax and any other similar charges or tax by the state government or the local government on the usage of facility or premises on the whole or part of the project during the subsistence of this agreement (the agreement shall take effect from the date of its execution and shall continue up to November 2, 2023”.

As the state government has sent a communiqué along with a copy of the agreement in question to the MC for necessary action, Mohali Mayor Kulwant Singh said if the state government wanted to exempt the company of tax, it should deposit the levy from its coffers with the corporation.

“If you favour one company, other companies will also start asking for similar favours and the corporation will be at the receiving end,” said the Mayor.

On the directions of the Mayor, the issue will be taken up at the next MC House meeting. The date of the meeting is yet to be finalised.

“Let the House members take a call on it,” said Kulwant Singh.

According to sources, the issue has been put on the agenda for the coming MC House meeting. The MC has also sent a communiqué to the Local Government Department, Punjab, for necessary action on the issue.

The sources said in the communiqué, the MC authorities had stated that the levy being charged on land or building was property tax. “In the agreement, the land tax and property tax have been shown as separate levies and the period of exemption from the taxes in both clauses (mentioned above) is different,” said the sources, adding that the Local Government Department had been asked to address the matter and take necessary action. The sources said the communiqué was sent to the Local Government Department in the first week of December last year and the MC was yet to get a reply.