The Hindu      31.03.2017 

GVMC inches close to property tax target

A file picture of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation building.C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM  

Achieves 90% collection and expects to cross last year’s figure

With a day left for the financial year to end, GVMC has achieved more than 90 % of the property tax. It also expects to cross the last year’s collection.

Against a collectible demand of Rs. 208 crore, the collection till Thursday evening crossed Rs. 193 crore. The total realisation last year was Rs. 194 crore.

The earlier emphasis on pressing for payment towards the end of March has eased on two counts. One is levying interest on payment after three months for the half-year payment and an early bird incentive of 5 % for remitting the total year’s tax in the first month of the financial year.

With campaigns on the penalty provision, in December alone Rs. 40 crore was realised and the total collection crossed Rs.140 crore.

Secondly, demonetisation in November gave an unexpected opportunity. With taxes being accepted in old currency, more than Rs. 17 crore had been realised after demonetisation.

Sources say after demonetisation, all municipal corporations have been facing problems in tax collection and Visakhapatnam is one of the two that has done well, the other being Vijayawada.

Rise in collection

During the last two days, payments have touched Rs. 2 crore, official sources said. On the penultimate day, on Thursday, the remittances crossed Rs. 2.5 crore by evening. “We expect it to touch Rs. 3 crore-mark,” said an official of the revenue wing of GVMC. With more payments in the form of cheques, the exact collection will be known late in the evening.

The revenue realisation is expected to go up on the last day with the collection from Visakhapatnam Port Trust increasing, according to sources.

To help pay without hassles, GVMC has also introduced a pilot project of “Any EMI” for collection at the doorstep of assesses.

On the last day, Friday, counters at the GVMC Main Office and zone offices will work till 10 p.m. Besides payments will be accepted at all branches of IDBI, select branches of ICICI and “Mee Seva centres.”