The Hindu 01.09.2009
BBMP nets Rs. 380 crore property tax so far
Staff Reporter
BBMP collected Rs. 748 crore last year
It hopes to collect at least Rs. 800 cr. this year
Bangalore: The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has collected approximately Rs. 380 crore as property tax from around 4.3 lakh residents of the city since the beginning of this financial year till August 30.
According to a revenue official, the last date to pay the first instalment of property tax for the financial year 2009-10 ended on Sunday. “On the last day alone, around Rs. 15 crore was collected,” the official said. While four lakh owners filed their tax returns at various centres identified by the BBMP, more than 30,000 property owners chose to go online.
Last year, around 7.5 lakh property owners paid tax to the tune of Rs. 748 crore to the civic authority. The official said property owners had just two months’ time to pay the property tax under self-assessment scheme last year. This year however, they have been given abundant time and they can pay the tax, albeit with penalty, till October-end.
The official also said that the BBMP had received a lot of complaints from property owners last year about the cumbersome procedure involved in filing the tax returns.
The official said that the civic authority hoped to collect at least Rs. 800 crore as property tax this year. “Our target is to collect Rs. 1,000 crore. To ensure 100 per cent payment, BBMP will use Geographical Information System, through which we will be able to scrutinise the details such as built-up area, number of floors and usage of the property,” he added.