The Hindu 15.02.2013
BBMP collects Rs. 6 cr. property tax dues
With Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials
leaving no stone unturned to recover the property tax dues from
defaulters, members of the Standing Committee for Taxation and Finance
showed they are not left behind.
On Wednesday, led by
committee chairperson K.A. Munindra Kumar, the commitee inspected
commercial complexes and malls in Mahadevapura zone to recover tax dues.
The members, accompanied by Mahadevapura’s joint commissioner S.N.
Gangadharaiah, were able to recover Rs. 5 crore dues.
According to Mr. Kumar, the committee just chose three commercial establishments.
At
Tesco, the committee found that the establishment owed the BBMP nearly
Rs. 10 crore. On insistence, Tesco immediately cleared 40 per cent of
the dues by paying Rs. 4 crore.
Pheonix Mall owes the
BBMP Rs. 3.5 crore. The committee directed the officials to issue
notice to the developers of the mall and directed them (developers) to
pay up dues within a week’s time.
With the news of
the “surprise inspections” spreading, Wipro voluntarily paid Rs. 1 crore
of the dues it owes to the BBMP. The committee later went to Brindavan
Tech Park, which has been rented out to 13 companies.
They found that the tech park owed the BBMP Rs. 23 crore.
The
officials of the tech park claimed that the owner was not in town and
assured the committee members and BBMP officials of getting in touch
with him and clearing the dues soon.
Mr. Kumar said that the BBMP had the potential of collecting nearly Rs. 5,000 crore as property tax.
He
conceded that some property owners were misusing the Self Assessment
Tax by failing to correctly declare the built up area, if it had been
rented out.
