Mysore/Mysuru: A delegation of Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and other Trade Bodies, led by former Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI) President Sudhakar S. Shetty met Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde at the MCC office yesterday and appealed him to waive off Trade Licence fee for one year, in the wake of COVID-19 crisis.

Maintaining that  post-lockdown relaxation, Trade and Commerce in the city has recorded only 30 percent of what it was in the pre-lockdown days, Sudhakar Shetty said that industries and businesses are finding it extremely difficult even to meet their daily expenditures. In such a situation, the MCC should come to their rescue by waiving off Trade Licence fee for a year.

Noting that Small and Medium Scale Industries are worst affected by COVID-19 crisis, he said that business levels has reached a new low due to the crisis and it has become difficult for Traders, Industrialists and the like to survive.

Claiming that Medical Stores in other districts do not require a separate Trade License from Local Bodies, Shetty urged the MCC to do away with Trade License for Medical Shops in the city too.

Continuing, he said that the State Chief Secretary has issued a circular to all district authorities asking them to issue Trade License that is valid for five years.

But the MCC has made Trade License renewal mandatory every year, which is not correct, he said and appealed the MCC to consider a five-year renewal just as is being done in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).