KMC tax relief for Book Fair organisers

24 December, 2007 11:20:00 editor

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In a bid to “help out” the Publishers and Booksellers Guild in organising the annual Kolkata Book Fair, the Kolkata Municipal Corpoation (KMC) has decided to provide tax relief to the organisers

In a bid to “help out” the Publishers and Booksellers Guild in organising the annual Kolkata Book Fair, the Kolkata Municipal Corpoation (KMC) has decided to provide tax relief to the organisers. However, KMC will take a token sum from the organisers as ground rent for organising the fair at the Park Circus Maidan.
This was decided following a meeting between the mayor and general secretary of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, Mr Tridib Chattpadhyay today.

Mr Chattpadhyay said: “We will provide the Guild with all the necessary assistance and support required for holding the book fair at the Park Circus Maidan. The amount to be paid as ground rent has not yet been decided”

The assistance includes the provision of water supply, clearing the garbage as well as maintenance of the ground, said a Guild official. Civic officials say that an amount of over Rs 1 crore may be forked out by the Guild if it has to pay the ground rent in full. However Guild sources said that the amount may be reduced. The last time the Publishers and Booksellers Guild paid any tax was during the tenure of former mayor Mr Subrata Mukherjee.

Earlier this month the mayor had announced that the Kolkata Book Fair would be a joint venture between the civic body and the Guild but had to later change its stand when the Guild refused the offer.

“The amount we receive as amusement tax is pretty nominal and hence we have decided to provide temporary tax relief,” the mayor said adding that the Guild has decided to contribute to the Heritage Fund of the city civic body.
However, when questioned, Mr Chattopadhyay refused to comment on the matter.

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