Nagaland government declares NPG taxation, summons, raids ‘illegal’

KOHIMA — The government of Nagaland on Tuesday issued a point-by-point response to the ‘Charter of Demands’ submitted by the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on April 27.

In a letter, copies of which were handed out to journalists during a press conference in Kohima, the state government clarified that the levying of taxes, issuing of summons to the business community and raids conducted by Naga political groups (NPG) are “illegal”.

“The state government does not support, and is fully against any illegal taxation or forcible demand or collection by any group or entity or individual in the state,” it said in a letter issued through the Home Commissioner.

It also clarified that Goods and Services Tax (GST) or any other legal tax is to be paid only to the state government by any business organisation or individual.

Stating that only the statutory bodies or law enforcement agencies of the state government are empowered to issue summons to anyone who is in conflict with the law, it said “summons by any other group/entity/individual is illegal and the aggrieved person may approach the law enforcing authorities for redressal of their grievances”.

Similarly, “only the statutory bodies are empowered to conduct raids by the state government,” it said, referring to the DCCI’s query on the raids carried out by NPGs to check for ‘so called’ duplicate products, maximum retail price (MRP) tampering, and sale of expired products.

“Raids conducted by any other group/entity/individual is illegal and the aggrieved person may approach the law enforcing authorities for redressal of their grievances,” it added.

Further, it said that the government has empowered the police and district administration to act upon each and every complaint pertaining to extortion, kidnapping, and waylaying of transport vehicles. The culprits will be booked under the law and National Security Act to ensure safety and security of every individual in the state, it said, adding that aggrieved persons can approach the law enforcing agencies in this regard.

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