Pokhara, August 10:

A joint mobile team of Lekhnath municipality and Lekhnath Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been mobilised to collect business tax at the city area from Monday.

Chief of revenue department of the municipality, Bishnu Baral said that the team is collecting tax, business renewal and registration fees for new businesses from the site where businesses are being run. The department informed that the team will continue its work in 15 wards of the municipality till November 14.

According to Baral, the number of business taxpayers in the municipality is 800 currently. He estimated that around 250 businesses, which are being operated, have not been registered with the municipality.

He informed that this step was taken using the rights provided by the local governance act and according to the decision made by the sixth meeting of the city council. He also said that out of the total business tax that will be collected, 30 per cent will be given to Lekhnath Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said the Chamber was included in the process as tax collection would be more effective under the joint effort.

The municipality has targeted to collect more than Rs 400,000 from business tax alone. On the first day of initiation of tax collection by the team, five new members have registered and six businessmen renewed their business registration. Baral informed that only Rs 150,000 business revenue could be collected in the previous FY.

Baral says that this could possibly be because of the reluctance of big businessmen to register and pay business tax. He informed that Rs 300,000 revenue was collected in FY 2003-04 and Rs 400,000 before that.

The biggest business taxpayer in the municipality is the local Tiger Mountain Hotel which pays Rs 10,000 annually.