MUMBAI, July 23: Over 35,000 traders have not received their octroi refund from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, amounting to about Rs 25 crores due to shortage of staff in the octroi department.The BMC refunds a part of the octroi when goods are taken out of the city's limits. While 93.75 per cent is refunded, the rest is collected as administrative charges. The BMC levies octroi ranging from one per cent to seven per cent, depending upon the nature of goods.Denying there was any shortage of staff, officials in the octroi department admitted the refund of a large number of traders is on hold. They said the matter would be sorted out soon. Some traders have not got their refund for over a year now.Deputy municipal commissioner Dattaji Desai, who is in charge of the department, said the delay is due to channelisation of the refund through numerous agencies. He assured that a policy decision will be taken soon to ensure that traders do not face such problems.He informed that after goods are taken out of Mumbai, the refund has to be paid within 30 days, according to rules laid down in the corporation book. ``But most traders receive it after three to four months,'' he said.Demanding that refund should be paid within six to eight weeks, president of Octroi Refund Dalals Association, Parmanand Thakker, said officials at the four check nakas complained the delay was due to shortage of staff.He informed that in 1988, a committee was set up by the BMC to look into the delay, and the octroi department was later revamped. ``It helped for some time, but the problem has become acute since the last two years,'' he lamented.Thakkar said though the number of claimants has risen from 45,000 per year in 1988 to over 96,000, there is no increase in staff strength. He added the department has the capacity to dispose only about 80,000 cases, resulting in a huge backlog.According to him, traders who have to claim a small amount do not pursue the matter due to the delay. ``Some traders feel the octroi of four per cent on an average is scant compared to excise and other duties, so they do not pursue their case,'' he said.Traders, on the other hand, are also unhappy. Krishna Thakkar of Castrol India Ltd said he has claimed Rs 41.48 lakh in 1,131 cases since October 1996. ``It has become difficult to run the industry when such a large amount is on hold. It is better to unload outside the city,'' he said. Another trader dealing in chemicals, Kamlesh Nagrekar, has claimed a little over Rs 19,000.
