Come November, get ready to pay more for electricity

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, October 18

The power tariff is all set to go up by two per cent for all categories of consumers in cities and towns (municipal areas) from coming November 1. The imposition of two per cent municipal tax on consumption, use or sale of electricity within the municipal limits in the state will hike the power rate.

In a notification (No. 3/15/2007-1/g(4lg3/1085616/1 dated October 16, 2017) issued by the Additional Chief Secretary, Local Government, Punjab, the state government exercising its powers under Section 62(A)(1) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, has directed all the municipal councils and nagar panchayats in the state to levy municipal tax at the rate of two per cent on consumption, use or sale of electricity within the municipal limits with effect from the first day of November, 2017.

Highly placed sources in the Local Government Department said a similar notification had also been issued under Section 90 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act for imposition of municipal tax on consumption and use of electricity in cities where Municipal Corporations were functional.

“The imposition of municipal levy on consumption of electricity has given a big jolt to the people in the state, who were expecting some relief from the burden of taxes after the victory of the ruling party nominee in the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha by-election,” said BJP vice-president Parminder Mehta.

He said rather than simplifying the tax structure and reducing taxes on urban population as promised in their election manifesto, the Congress government was putting additional financial burden on the people.

The Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal general secretary, Mohinder Aggarwal, criticised the imposition of municipal tax on electricity. He said the Congress government was not practicing what it preached.