The Hindu 14.02.2013
BBMP to display list of property tax defaulters at public places
Four lakh property owners in Bangalore owe BBMP Rs. 750 crore.
Have not paid property tax this year? Beware… soon you
may find your name on the list of defaulters displayed publicly. The
Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is known to be
cash-strapped, is leaving no stone unturned to collect dues from tax
defaulters.
According to a press release,
Commissioner Siddaiah has directed zonal commissioners, deputy
commissioners and assistant revenue officers to collect all pending
dues. It is said that there are around four lakh property owners who owe
the BBMP tax dues amounting to a whopping Rs. 750 crore. These property
owners have not paid any tax since 2008-09.
As a
first order of things, the release stated that the Commissioner had
asked the officials to prepare ward-wise list of defaulters and display
them prominently in public places, besides sharing the list with the
local residents’ welfare associations. The BBMP will also continue with
its drum-beating programme. The officials have been given a deadline of
March 31 to prepare the list.
Meanwhile, efforts are
being made to bring all the 16.5 lakh properties mapped using
Geographical Information System (GIS) under the tax net. In 2008-09,
almost 13.34 lakh property owners paid tax under the Self Assessment
Scheme to the BBMP. However this year, only 9.44 lakh property owners
have paid tax, while 3.9 lakh have defaulted on payment.
To
identify those who have suppressed facts and paid less tax to the BBMP,
the civic body has already taken up revalidation of tax paid by
commercial properties with more than 10,000 sq ft of built up area. With
this exercise almost coming to an end, the release said, the officials
have now been asked to take up revalidation of commercial properties
with built up area between 4,000 sq ft and 10,000 sq ft.
Other than this, the BBMP will also compare the property tax details with GIS maps, electoral rolls and building plans.
With
this, the civic body hopes to identify owners who have rented out their
properties and declared as being “self occupied” to pay less tax,
besides those who have sought approval for a residential plan and using
the premises for commercial purposes, the release added.
