Defaulters owe Rs 13 crore in property tax to civic body, many of them schools
There are 2,100 defaulters who have not paid property tax, amounting to Rs 13 crore, to the municipal corporation ever since the tax was introduced in 2004. Lack of any stringent action against the defaulters and an outdated collection system are resulting in revenue loss to the civic body.
Of the Rs 13 crore, around Rs 6 crore has to be paid by a number of private schools.
The only measure that the civic body has taken is to send notices to defaulters and impose a high penalty. While the amount to be paid keeps getting compounded no action has been taken against non-compliance.
As per the Municipal Act, the next step is attaching the property of the defaulter. For this, a civil suit has to be filed by the officials which is mostly a step avoided by them.
In its annual budget for 2012-13, the MC has projected Rs 19 crore as its expected revenue from collection of property tax. The target is yet to be met.
Amidst clamour for imposing tax on residential property and increasing the amount imposed on commercial property, Mayor Subhash Chawla has asked for computerisation of the records. “While the tax already imposed is not being collected,
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