CMDA gets octroi reduced

Pune

February 19th, 2008

Just a few weeks after Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) decided to hike
octroi in Pune from three to seven percent, it has now revoked its decision and
brought back the rate to three percent. In a general body meeting PMC declared
that old rates of octroi would prevail in Pune. The credit for this achievement
goes to Computer and Media Dealers Association (CMDA) Pune, which was successful
in reasoning with PMC.

CMDA had voiced its concerns about PMC's decision to increase octroi to seven
percent from Feb 1, 2008. Since then CMDA was continuously in talks with various
corporators, the commissioner and the mayor of Pune and asked fro its reduction
octroi.

Sunil Gugale, President, CMDA said, "I am very happy that our efforts
have been successful. We were lobbying with various corporators for the
reduction of octroi from seven to three percent. We had given presentations to
various bodies about how computers today are becoming a necessity and how
central government is promoting computers in every house. This increase in
octroi rate could have made computers and peripherals costly and the survival of
dealers would have become more difficult as margins are dropping day-by-day. We
had also said that we would go on an indefinite strike if the government did not
agree to our demand. Increase in octroi would have motivated people to buy PCs
from neighboring Pimpri-Chinchwad Corporation where the rate of octroi is just
2.5 percent."

CMDA Pune, which is ISO 9001:2000 certified, now has 350 members and is one
of the strongest associations in the country. Its members control 90 percent of
the Pune IT marketshare.