LAHORE, June 19: The six town administrations in the provincial metropolis have decided to levy blanket licence fees on 120 kinds of factories and 75 kinds of businesses from July 1.
The licence fees ranging between Rs200 and Rs150,000 are proposed for industrial and commercial units irrespective of their production capacity.
Fees ranging between Rs300 to Rs50,000 will be charged for the no-objection certificates in addition to the licence fee. The application for an NOC will be received after the payment of licence fee.
The formality of inviting objections has already been met and the formal approval of the town councils is expected by the end of the month.
The highest annual licence fee of Rs150,000 is proposed to be levied on an automobile factory. This is to be followed by a Rs100,000 fee proposed for the private powerhouses and the units manufacturing allopathic medicines. The third highest licence fee of Rs50,000 has been proposed for sugar mills, ghee/cooking oil mills, chemicals/ insecticide factories, tractor and motorcycle factories, fertilizer factories, paint factories, arms and ammunition factories and television and radio factories and the Bata shoe factory.
An annual licence fee of Rs30,000 has been proposed for engineering works, foundries or small tool factories, a Rs25,000 fee has been proposed for textile mills, weaving factories, cotton mills, ginning factories, yarn mills and cotton waste mills, woollen mills, tubelight and bulbs factories, hosiery and garment factories, steel mills, machine-made carpet factories, artificial leather factories, tarpaulin factories, shoe factories other than Bata, soda water factories, paper mills, poultry feed plants, steel mills, plastic and ceramic units, transformer, electric motor and pipe manufacturing units and foam factories and beverages of foreign brands.
A licence fee of Rs20,000 is proposed to be charged from the owners of rice mills, glass factories, embroidery units, building materials factories, hatcheries, cement pipe and girder factories, acid and chemical manufacturing units.
A licence fee of Rs15,000 has been proposed for jute mills, bus body builders, ceramics and tiles and insulator manufacturers, fibreglass and PVC pipe manufacturers, lime powder products, tanneries, thermopore sheet factories, tyres and soap factories, cables and switches, gelatin, chip board/ plywood, plastic toys, wire gauze and tin box factories, battery cell manufacturing units, printing presses and electroplating units.
A licence fee of Rs10,000 is proposed to be charged from the owners of oil mills, oil plants, car/ jeep body builders, cardboard and product factories, rubber products factories, crown cork and indigenous soda water bottling units, thread and sizing factories, silicate factories, dyeing and finishing mills, match factories, exports goods manufacturing units, glue factories, indigenous medicine manufacturing units, small galvanized iron pipe manufacturing units, brick kilns, surgical goods manufacturing units, food factories and cable networks.
A licence fee of Rs5,000 has been proposed for shellers and processing units, ice factories and cold storages, junkyards and warehouses, transformer and electric motors repairing units, small scale brick kilns, fertilizer, chemicals, pesticide, diesel and Mobil oil dealers, cement pipe and slab makers, fireworks manufacturers, acid and chemicals dealers, small scale foam manufacturers and factories employing more than 10 people.
A licence fee of Rs3,000 is proposed to be charged from the owners of oil expellers, poultry farms with an area exceeding three kanals, bakeries and factories employing less than 10 people.
A licence fee of Rs2,500 will be charged from manufacturers of agricultural implements, Rs2,000 from makers of iron and wooden cots, saw machines and furniture makers, arms and ammunition sales and repair shops, ghee and cooking oil agencies, iron merchants and marble dealers, acid and chemicals dealers and mat makers.
A licence fee of Rs1,500 has been prescribed for petrol pumps and poultry farms with areas between five and 10 marlas. A Rs1,000 fee will be charged from gas welding plants, wheat grinding mills, box makers, timber, coal and firewood merchants, denters and painters, horn and motorcycle parts makers and small poultry farms. Fodder merchants, lathe machine owners and straw-folder makers will pay a licence fee of Rs500 per annum. The minimum licence fee of Rs200 has been prescribed for animal- driven indigenous oil expellers.
The town administrations have also proposed a tax on advertisements proposed to be levied on the buses displaying different advertisements and carrying publicity banners.
The town administrations will also auction contracts for recovery of parking fee from over 100 spots, over 50 wagon stands and slaughterhouses.
OPPOSITION: The Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association has criticized the taxation proposals. A spokesman for the PHMA regretted that the same fee had been prescribed for businesses and factories in a category without considering the volume of their business.
The spokesman also regretted that additional fee had been proposed for issuance of an NOC.