Thiruvananthapuram: A major reduction has been made in the fines imposed for the delayed renewal of trade, commerce, business, and service licenses under municipalities in Kerala. The penalty, which had been increasing in an unscientific manner for years, has now been reduced by 30 times.

Changes in fine for delayed license renewal
Previously, a 25 percent fine on the annual fee was charged for every 10-day delay, and an additional 25 percent for every 15-day delay thereafter. Even for shorter periods of delay, fines were 10 to 20 times the actual fee. 

However, under the new rule, even if a license renewal is delayed by one year after its expiry, only 20 percent of the annual fee will be charged as a penalty. For delays beyond one year, a penalty of 25 percent of the annual fee will be imposed for each subsequent year.

The change has been introduced under Section 11(4) of the Kerala Municipality Act. For example, if the license fee is Rs 1,000, after one year of delay, a penalty of Rs 200 will now be sufficient, compared to the previous rate, where the penalty alone could exceed Rs 6,000. This represents a 30-fold reduction in penalties.

The new rules, however, stipulate that applications for renewal must be made at least 30 days before the license expires. 

The change is in response to long-standing requests from trade and business organisations, said Minister M B Rajesh, adding that the process of renewing licenses through K-Smart has been simplified. 

In the Gram Panchayats, there were no unscientific fee structures.