India, Dec. 11 -- A division bench of Justices GS Kulkarni and Advait M Sethna of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday upheld the Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) rate of Rs.222 per square foot for hoardings. With the petition filed by hoarding businessmen rejected, PMC can now recover the full amount and add nearly Rs.100 crore to its revenue.

Advertisers had challenged the hike and said the increase was excessive. The court ruled that PMC has the legal authority to impose and revise hoarding licence fees. It said the GST Act does not stop the civic body from collecting sky sign and licence charges. The bench termed the plea "luxury litigation" and said advertising agencies were avoiding payments despite collecting fees from clients.

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