Chandigarh Municipal Board Issues Notices To Property Tax Defaulters
According to the sources, around 30,000 residents have failed to pay tax within the stipulated time period. Of these, municipal corporations have issued a notice to 3500 defaulters.
To address the issue, the corporation has initiated the process of recovery. Approximately 30,000 residential property tax payers have failed to meet the payment deadline, and the MC has already issued notices to around 3,500 defaulters, according to sources. MC officials have stated that the drive against defaulters will be intensified in the upcoming days. The city has a total of 1.42 lakh property tax assesses, encompassing both residential and commercial property owners. Among these, 1.12 lakh properties are residential and subject to property tax.
The Municipal Corporation (MC) officials have announced that they will intensify their efforts to address property tax defaulters in the upcoming days. Around 2 lakh of defaulters are found, both residential and commercial property owners. Out of these, 1.12 lakh are residential properties that fall under the property tax regulations.
Officials have stated that if the tax is paid by May 31, 2023, assesses may be eligible for a rebate. However, defaulters will now face a 25% penalty and an annual interest rate of 12% from the date of bill issuance until the actual payment is done.
Furthermore, the MC will take action to recover outstanding dues under Section 138 of the Municipal Corporation Act. The property tax for the assessment year 2023-24 has been calculated by the MC under the self-assessment scheme, as per clause 2 (ix) of the MC Property Bylaws 2003. Public notices as well as individual demand notices have been issued to collect property tax dues from all the assesses.
During the rebate period, approximately 81,000 assesses, both commercial and residential, have paid their property tax, resulting in a collection of around Rs 44 crore. Out of the total 30,000 commercial assesses, around 16,200 have cleared their dues, contributing approximately Rs 27 crore. Additionally, residential taxpayers have paid around Rs 13 crore. Notably, Panjab University, with the highest pending property dues of around Rs 23 crore, has paid Rs 1 crore. PGI, with an outstanding amount of Rs 12 crore, has paid Rs 88 lakh in property tax, and the Chandigarh administration has paid Rs 1.38 crore.
This year, the MC has added approximately 6,000 new assessees to the property tax net. To improve the assessment of properties in the city that should be subject to property tax but have managed to evade it thus far, the MC has gathered data from various UT departments. Additionally, the Indian Post Office has been hired to deliver the property tax bills this time
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