December 7: The cash- strapped Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation owes more than Rs 30 crore towards octroi refund to companies. BMC officials have assured that the staff strength of the department will be increased to dispose the cases quickly. However, no steps in that direction have been taken so far.

Additional municipal commissioner V R Ramani recently offered an assurance to that effect, stating that the staff strength of the octroi and accounts department will be increased so that the claimants do not have to wait long for their dues. A proposal which was prepared two months ago is yet to receive his sanction though.

Assessor and collector P B Janwalkar told Express Newsline that the proposal is being discussed and is likely to be sanctioned soon. ``We are also discussing ways to simplify the refund process such as curtailing the check list,'' he said. However, only last week, the corporation introduced another lengthy process of verifying the refund forms before refunding the money. The president of Octroi Refund Dalals Association Parmanand Thakkar said, ``Earlier, we had to just present the refund slip and were paid the money immediately. But now, the officials can delay the process further on the pretext that they want to verify with the corporation records whether the refund slip is genuine.''

This has only added to the problem rather than simplifying it. However, Janwalkar denied that there was any deliberate attempt to prolong the refund process. He added that this was an extra precaution the corporation wanted to take.

Over 40,000 cases have been on hold over the last two years. Every month about 1,000 cases are left unattended due to staff crunch. Last year, out of the 96,000 pending cases, only 86,000 were cleared and the corporation recovered Rs 7.91 crore as administrative charges in disposing them. The administration deducts 6.25 per cent of the octroi collected as administrative charge. A fresh proposal has been made to increase the fee to 10 per cent.

Thakkar claimed that even if the staff strength is increased immediately, it will take another six months before the backlog is cleared. ``The corporation's plan to temporarily increase staff strength will not solve the problem. A permanent solution needs to be worked out.'' While it is binding on the part of the claimants to file forms for the refund within six months after the goods are brought into the city, the BMC has no such deadline.

In 1988, the then municipal commissioner S S Tinaikar had constituted a committee under J B D'Souza to suggest methods to smoothen the octroi process. The committee had suggested that the corporation should refund the money within 15 days after the forms are received. They also proposed the formation of a new department to speed up the refund process. A new cell was constituted in September 1988 but the 15-day time limit was not implemented.The BMC's proposal to computerise the check nakas has also flopped.

Janwalkar said the Dahisar check naka was computerised last year, but it soon ran into a technical problem. The other nakas are yet to be computerised. The octroi department has a strength of 2,000 staff and it was increased by another 50 six months ago.

A spokesperson for Dey's Medical said his company has been waiting for the last three-and-a-half months to get a refund of Rs 1.75 lakh. M R S Nair of Sudarshan Chemicals complained that the procedures should be simplified. His company's refund of Rs 6 lakh is eight months overdue.

TMC owes TELCO Rs 10 crore

Even a Supreme Court ruling in its favour could not help TELCO recover its dues, a whopping Rs 10 crore, from the Thane Municipal Corporation. TELCO had filed a writ in the Bombay High Court in 1982 for a refund of Rs 1.29 crore. After losing the case in 1988, it appealed in the SC, which ruled in 1991 that the TMC pay a refund of 10 crore, the amount that had accumulated till then. However, the TMC has dragged its feet for the last six years, asking TELCO to produce some document or the other for verification. Today, the total amount owed to the company stands at Rs 15 crore.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.