Parking fee collection from shopping complex
Collection of parking fees for vehicles parked in a shopping complex is a much-debated topic and has been a subject of some writ petitions in the High Court of Kerala.
Collection is a prerogative of the building owner
A recent judgement of the High Court says in Bosco Leuis v State of Kerala, t is the prerogative of the building owner to decide whether to levy parking fee from the customers. The judgement says that if the building owner decides to levy fees it can be done after obtaining a licence from the local authority under Section 447 of the Kerala Municipality Act.
Collection from multi-level cart stand
On the other hand, collection of parking fee in a multilevel cart stand is a commercial activity. It amounts to conducting of a cart start. It can be done under licence issued under Section for 475 of the Kerala Municipality Act. The item multi-level parking facility falls within the meaning of parking building, coming under the Rule 2 (bx) of Kerala Municipal Building Rules, 2019. Multi-level cart stand is a standalone building utilised for parking of vehicles only.
No prohibition is collecting fee
The petitioners in this case argued that the parking space required to be set apart mandatorily should be given for customers’ parking for free. The respondents argued that there is no prohibition in collecting parking fee and the parking fee is collected on the strength of a licence under Section 475 of Kerala Municipality Act.
License is required to collect fee
The court pointed out that Section 447 of the Kerala Municipality Act is the right section to collect parking in a shopping complex and the Section 475 of the Municipality Act is for collecting fee from a standalone multilevel parking facility.
The Section 447 of the Kerala Municipality Act prohibits use of place within a municipal area for trades, industries, or other services, without a licence. Pay and park within a municipal area is an activity that requires such licence. Hence for pay and park a licence need to be obtained by the building owner to collect parking fee from the customers. That is a prerogative of the building owner.
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