Gurgaon: Industry and trade bodies have opposed the new property tax regime for industrial and commercial properties in the city, arguing that the revised formula could substantially increase their tax liability and raise the cost of doing business. The industry body has urged the state govt to immediately stop recovery of the enhanced tax and review the new system before making it permanent.Progressive Federation of Trade and Industry (PFTI) chairman Deepak Maini has written to chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, seeking restoration of the earlier, simpler property tax system and consultations with industry before any final decision. The federation has also warned that a sharp rise in property tax could increase operating costs for businesses, potentially affecting investment, expansion and employment.The objection centres on the new method of calculating property tax, under which assessment is linked to collector rates of different areas rather than property size alone, as was the case earlier. According to PFTI, this means properties of a similar nature can attract substantially different tax liabilities simply because they are located in areas with different collector rates. Maini said the new system also uses a complex statistical mechanism for determining tax liability, making it difficult for property owners to independently verify how their bills have been calculated. “A tax regime should have a clear and easily understandable basis so that taxpayers can calculate their liability and pay it without ambiguity,” he said.P K Gupta, an industrialist, said the federation had objected to using location-specific collector rates as a key component in determining the tax burden, arguing it could create disparities between otherwise comparable properties in neighbouring areas. The federation has described this as inequitable and sought a uniform, transparent methodology instead.The industry body has also opposed what it describes as a multi-fold increase in property tax under the new system. Maini said the hike would effectively add another cost to businesses already dealing with expenses related to power, labour, compliance and infrastructure. Industry’s preferred option is restoration of the previous, simpler system. If the govt needs to raise municipal revenue, the federation has suggested doing so within the earlier formula, with any increase kept limited and predictable rather than introducing a system prone to steep variations in tax liability.Maini has also sought a high-level meeting between the govt and industry and trade associations before the new policy is finalised.The issue carries particular weight for the city, one of Haryana’s biggest industrial and commercial centres. Industry representatives fear that higher property-related costs could eventually be passed on through increased operating expenses, weakening the city’s competitiveness as an investment destination. The industry body clarified it was not opposed to the govt’s objective of increasing revenue, but argued that any revision should be predictable, transparent and proportionate, and appealed to the chief minister to intervene and provide relief to industrial and commercial property owners.
