Extinction event: how GST killed the octroi ecosystem

Once upon a time, anyone bringing goods into Mumbai would have to pay the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the privilege of selling those goods in the city. This payment, octroi, paid a large chunk of the BMC’s bills. And at the city’s three main entry points, Dahisar, Mulund and Mankhurd, three sprawling octroi plazas — nakas in local parlance — each big enough to take dozens of truck…