Meghalaya Govt decriminalises failure to pay professional tax

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 4, 2022

The state Cabinet on Monday approved the amendment of the Meghalaya Professions, Trades, Callings And Employments Taxation Act, 1947 which seeks to decriminalise failure to pay taxes.

After the meeting, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma told reporters that according to the amendment there has to be mandatory registration by all for payment of professional tax and this will be based on scheduled areas and non-scheduled areas.

In the scheduled areas, that will be done by the district councils and in non-schedule areas by the taxation department.

He said the government has also decided that anybody who has an annual income of less than Rs 1.8 lakh will not have to pay professional tax 

“Earlier, the people who had above Rs 50,000 and below did not have to pay the tax but now we have enhanced it to Rs 1.8 lakh,” he added.

Further, Sangma informed that the amendment also seeks to reduce the slabs from 12 to 4. There will be Rs 1.8 lakh to Rs 3 lakh slab, which will be Rs 500, 3 lakh to 5 lakh slab – Rs 1000, Rs 5 lakh to 7.5 lakh slab – Rs 1,500 and above Rs 7.5 lakh  – Rs 2,500

“We have decided to decriminalise this entire procedure. The minor offences like not paying the taxes that would have led to three years of imprisonment so we have decided to remove that provision,” he said.

“Now the only penalty that will be there is payment of 4 times the amount that is due. Those parts of imprisonment have been removed from the Act,” Sangma said while informing that there will be an interest amount at 12% per annum for those who are paying late.