GUWAHATI, June 18 - There are altogether 38,583 trade licence defaulters in the city at present, which has resulted in heavy revenue loss to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC).
A total of 50,873 business establishments are active in the city till date.
�As many as 12,290 business establishments renewed their trade licences this year, which means only these licences are currently active in Guwahati,� a source in GMC said.
�In the central zone of the city, non-renewal of the trade licences stands at 8,760 out of 10,065. In the Dispur zone, 5,215 business establishments out of 7,374 have renewed their licences. On the other hand, 6,963 business establishments out of 8,179 in west zone, 7,836 out of 8,846 in south zone, 8,081 out of 9,922 in east zone and 4,811 out of 6,487 in Lokhra zone still haven�t renewed their trade licences,� the source said.
Licences are normally issued for one year to different business establishments of the city. According to rule, each establishment should renew its trade licence on April 1 every year.
�Valid for a period of one year, this licence requires renewal at an annual basis. The GMC suffers heavy revenue loss every year due to non-renewal of licences. A fine is levied in case of any delay in the trade licence renewal process,� the source added.
Trade licences are issued under around 215 categories by the GMC.
Trade licence renewal can be done online as well as offline. In the online mode, traders can pay their renewal fee by logging on to the GMC portal. On the other hand, the traders have to visit the Deputy Commissioner�s office in their respective zones. There are six zones in Guwahati city � East, West, Central, South, Dispur and Lokhra zone.
�We urge the defaulters to renew their trade licences soon, or else they will be heavily fined. The GMC has already started a drive for inspection of property tax, trade licence, building permission, parking of school buses, general cleanliness of schools and colleges, etc., besides examining the solid waste management or disposal systems being adopted by different business establishments,� the source further said.
