Ahmedabad: Industries in Sanand GIDC, one of Gujarat’s biggest manufacturing hubs, are caught in a growing tax dispute with local bodies. Gram panchayats have allegedly stopped accepting professional tax from companies that have not cleared property tax dues. The move has created fresh compliance problems for industries, which argue that the two taxes are unrelated and cannot be linked.Sanand GIDC houses more than 50 multinational companies and over 600 MSMEs, which together employ around 50,000 people.According to industry representatives, many units located around villages such as Bol, Charal and Hirapur have withheld property tax payments, contending that GIDC — not the gram panchayats — provides roads, drainage, streetlights and other civic amenities. They say paying property tax to panchayats amounts to double taxation because industries already pay service charges to GIDC.The Sanand Industries Association has written to the Ahmedabad collector, alleging, “Panchayats do not provide these infrastructure and civic services, yet they are demanding property tax. They have now stopped accepting professional tax from companies, affecting statutory compliance and return filing.”SIA president Ajit Shah said, “Companies already pay service charges to GIDC. Asking them to pay property tax as well amounts to double taxation.”Shah said the dispute is pending before a court. He also referred to an earlier state govt proposal under which 75% of the property tax collected from industries would be transferred to local industrial associations to provide civic services. “That model has still not been implemented,” he said.The association has also written to the Sanand prant officer, arguing that property tax and professional tax are separate statutory levies and one cannot be made conditional upon payment of the other. It warned that the practice is disrupting regulatory compliance for industries.
