NO IMPOSITION OF TAX ON KEEPING OF PETS: LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT
M4PNews | Chandigarh
The Local Government Department, Punjab, has made it clear that the news reported in sections of media regarding imposition of tax upon keeping the pets in the urban areas is totally baseless and devoid of facts.
Clarifying the position, a spokesman of the department today said that the Local Government department has not imposed any such tax. The spokesman also divulged that the letters being circulated in the media have absolutely no link with the imposition of tax.
Further elaborating, the spokesman said that the said letters are concerned with the framing of ‘Punjab Municipal Corporation and Municipal (Registration Control of Stray Animals and Compensation to the Victim of Animal Attack) bye-laws, 2017 by the department as per the orders of the hon’ble Court. The hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court had in a Civil Writ Petition No. 14188 of 2017 Ram Kumar vs Punjab Government and Others, asked the Punjab, Haryana and U.T. to chalk out a policy for putting a stop to the biting of people by the stray dogs/animals and awarding compensation to the family of deceased person. Under the proposal, no new tax is intended to be imposed instead the letter has been released for framing a policy/proposal regarding giving compensation in case of death caused due to stray dog/animal biting.
What was the news earlier
In a first in India, people in urban areas of Punjab will now have to pay tax for keeping domestic animals, according to the latest notice issued by the state government.
According to a notification issued by the Department of Local Administration headed by state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, all pet animals will now be taxed, including cats, dogs, horses, pigs, buffaloes and cows.
As per order, residents in Punjab will have to pay tax of Rs 250 per year for keeping domestic animals like dog, cat, pig, sheep, deer etc and Rs 500 per year for buffalo, bull, camel, horse, cow, elephant etc.
“Branding code”, identification mark or number will also be given to each animal on code branding or microchip installed on the animal, the order government said.
From now on, a pet owner in Punjab will also have to take licence from the authority, which will be renewed after every year.
This may create a lot of resentment in Punjab, which — along with Goa and Kerala — is among the most urbanised states in India.