Tura, July 9: The Garo Hills Autonomous District Council(GHADC) on Wednesday launched an extensive enforcement drive across South West Garo Hills, inspecting more than 200 shops and business establishments for violations related to Trading by Non-Tribals (TNT) licences, Professional Tax and illegal commercial operations in the Sixth Schedule area.

The drive, led by GHADC Deputy Chief Executive Member (CEM) along with Council officials, covered Bansali, Chandamari, Mirjumla and several other localities along the Meghalaya-Assam border.

The inspection forms part of the Council’s recent efforts to improve its revenue collection by identifying tax defaulters and businesses operating without the mandatory permissions.

Officials said that a large number of establishments were allegedly functioning without valid TNT licences and other legal documents required to operate in the Sixth Schedule area.

Several businesses were also found to have defaulted on the payment of Professional Tax, while many shop owners reportedly closed their establishments and fled after learning about the inspection.

Speaking to Hub News, the Deputy CEM said the Council has become more aggressive in checking whether non-tribal traders operating in the Sixth Schedule area are complying with the laws and paying the taxes due to the GHADC.

“We have observed that many traders continue to run businesses without paying the required taxes. This has resulted in revenue losses for the Council. We will be very strict, and similar drives will soon be carried out in other parts of Garo Hills,” he said.

The latest operation is the second such crackdown by the GHADC in recent weeks. Earlier, the Council had conducted a similar enforcement drive in Tura, where action was initiated against several establishments, including banks, over the non-payment of Professional Tax.

Council officials said the inspections will continue across Garo Hills as part of a wider initiative to ensure that every commercial establishment operating within the Council’s jurisdiction possesses valid licences and contributes to the Council’s revenue through timely payment of taxes.

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