GHMC struggles to impose advertising charges on small businesses

According to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Hyderabad has 68,491 commercial establishments, but most of them do not pay this tax. If 80 percent of them were compiled, it would add 25 percent of current ad revenue, which has seen only marginal growth in recent years.

GHMC advertising fee revenue increased by 19 per cent from Rs 7 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 8.33 crore in 2022-23 and by 38 per cent to Rs 11.5 crore in 2023-24.

An increase, yes, but according to officials, it comes mostly from advertisements on monopoles, center dividers, shelters and buses. Most of the advertisers who advertise on shutters, shop windows and the backs of over one lakh autorickshaws do not pay advertising tax.

“They (advertisers) pay 100 lei for placing a sticker on the back of my car. How will I pay Rs 1,500 to GHMC?” said autorickshaw driver Shakeel Ahmed, who was surprised when asked about the advertising fee.

The owner of a burger shop, which has been running for five years, told Deccan Chronicle, “We pay GST quarterly, but we were not aware of this GHMC advertisement tax. Paying another tax to the government makes it difficult for us to run our business,” he said.

GHMC struggles to impose advertising charges among smaller businesses. “Many small shop owners don’t know about the advertising tax. It creates an inequitable situation for the bigger enterprises who pay,” said a GHMC official who did not wish to be named.

One popular restaurant owner expressed his frustration, saying, “Rules are rules. No need to categorize businesses. The authorities should create policies wisely instead of claiming that category B and C stores or other vendors are not generating enough revenue,” he added.

Officials from GHMC said, “It is important that everyone follows the rules to keep the city clean. We want to bring the city up to global standards.” They also noted: “We have online payment options for advertising fees to make payments easier for business owners and improve transparency and efficiency. But still, most people are not aware of these policies.”

Advertising Rates (Per Square Meter or Per Vehicle in Rupees)

Central dividers: S: 3,000, A: 2,750, B: 2,500, C: 2,250

Unipole: S: 2,000, A: 1,750, B: 1,500, C: 1,150

Impressions: S: 1,500, A: 1,350, B: 1,200, C: 850

Neon and bright signs/ Bus shelters: S: 1,250, A: 1,000, B: 750, C: 600

Mural, flexible sign, poster, pole signs, painting/stickers/shop shutters:

S: 1,000, A: 800, B: 600, C: 500

Balloons, umbrellas: S: 4,000, A: 3,000, B: 2,000, C: 1,500

Slides/Short films: S: 2,000, A: 2,000, B: 2,000, C: 2,000

Cars: S: 1,500, A: 1,500, B: 1,500, C: 1,500

Buses: S: 4,000, A: 4,000, B: 4,000, C: 4,000

Cabs/vans: S: 3,000, A: 3,000, B: 3,000, C: 3,000

GHMC Categories:

Category S: All metro corridors, PVNR Expressway, ORR within GHMC limits

Category A: Market areas like Rashtrapati Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Begumpet, Jubilee Hills, Kukatpally, Madhapur, Hitec City, Kondapur and Gachibowli, Abids, Sultan Bazar, Banjara Hills, Punjagutta, Somajiguda and Himayat Nagar.

Category B: Ex-MCH areas, Kukatpally and Serilingampally regions, but excluding those mentioned in Category A.

Category C: Rajendranagar, LB Nagar, Uppal, Quthbullapur, Malkajgiri, Alwal, Kapra and Ramachandrapuram and Patancheru.