Months after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) approved a proposal to merge general trade licences with the property tax system and eliminate a separate renewal process, traders across the Capital said they are still waiting implementation of the new system, with the deadline for property tax payments now just two weeks away.
Trader associations said the civic body’s online portal has not yet been updated to reflect the new system, leaving thousands of businesses uncertain about how they are supposed to pay property tax and renew their licences.
Nitin Gupta, president of the Kamla Nagar Market Traders’ Association, said that the MCD House of Councillors approved the policy change on December 2, 2025, while an implementation order was issued on April 30 following repeated representations from trader bodies.
“The purpose of the reform was to reduce compliance burden and end the need for a separate licence renewal process. But despite the order, the portal has not been modified. Traders are unable to complete the process and are anxious as the property tax deadline approaches,” Gupta said.
The General Trade and Storage Licence (GTL) regime covers more than 463 categories of businesses, including grocery stores, paan shops, art galleries, retail outlets, warehouses, godowns and showrooms.
Under the new framework approved by MCD, the general trade licence fee is to be linked directly to property tax. Instead of applying separately for a licence, traders would pay a fee equivalent to 15% of the annual property tax of the premises at the time of property tax payment.
General Trade and Storage Licences are issued under Section 417 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. The integration is expected to remove the need for separate applications, renewals and licence documents.
In its proposal, MCD argued that the move would reduce the “licence-permit raj” while protecting civic revenues. The corporation noted that under the existing system, licence fees depend on the nature of trade, size of premises and locality category, often requiring inspections to verify details.
“It will be appropriate if licence fee is charged as a percentage of property tax,” the proposal stated.
Officials familiar with the matter said compliance with the licensing regime has historically remained low despite a large number of businesses being required to obtain licences.
According to MCD data, 34,048 general trade licences were issued during 2025-26, generating ₹56.66 crore in licence fee revenue. The corresponding establishments paid ₹289 crore in property tax.
In the same period, 2,059 special trade licences generated ₹54.07 crore in licence fees, while the properties linked to them contributed ₹883.96 crore in property tax collections.
Trader associations on last Friday submitted a petition to MCD seeking immediate implementation of the reform. They said the integration was expected to simplify compliance for thousands of businesses, but continued delays risk defeating the very purpose of the policy.
MCD officials did not respond on the matter by the time of going to print.