21k lawyers, docs to get notices soon
The professional tax department of the Maharashtra government is in the process of issuing a demand notice to more than 21,000 lawyers and doctors, who have not been paying professional tax or have failed to apply for a certificate of registration/enrollment since the last few years.
According to the department, around 10 per cent professionals are not paying tax and this is causing a shortage of around `200 crores to the state exchequer every year. Officials further said that despite constant reminders and showcause notices, these professionals have not been paying heed to their appeals.
“We have no option left, but to take further course of action as provisioned under Section 5 of the Maharashtra State Tax on Profession, Trades, Callings and Employments Act 1975,” an official said.
Confirming the move, joint commissioner of sales tax (profession tax), V.V. Guthe said, “As a last resort, we are going to issue a demand notice at the earliest and those professionals, who don’t turn up, will have to face prosecution.”
According to an official, if an individual is prosecuted, the maximum penalty as per Notice no. 5 of the Professional tax
Act Maharashtra 1975 would be `5,000, Advocate Sudeep Pasbola, president of Bombay City Civil and Sessions Court Bar Association said, “A novice lawyer has to pay the same amount as that of an experienced lawyer.
If the department recovers this tax with a slab, people won’t have a problem paying their tax.”
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