BMP to tax ‘shop advertisements’

BMP to tax ‘shop advertisements’
Deccan herald

Your corner shopkeeper will soon feel a pinch in his purse. On what account? For luring you!

Your corner shopkeeper will soon feel a pinch in his purse. On what account? For luring you!

Picturised displays of the fizz in the soft drink, the germ fighter in the toothpaste, the crunch in the fries and sweetmeats, and so on that he chooses to hang alongside the nameboard of his establishment will soon come under the advertisement ambit of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palika (BMP).

The new advertisement bylaw of the BMP is slated to come into effect on January 12 and is all set to tax what it calls “shop advertisements” too.


The customer-luring displays on and alongside the nameboards and on the walls and other visible faces of an establishment — be it a corner shop or a mall — will be charged.

Since shop advertisements are self-managed or owner-managed unlike the hoardings and their like (which are managed by advertisement agencies), the BMP is likely to collect the shop advertisement tax along with the property tax. The newly formulated zonal classification norms will not apply to shop advertisements.

According to BMP sources, shop advertisements will be charged across all zones. A sensitisation workshop on the new bylaws for stakeholders will be held on Friday.