Indian Express 29.07.2010
MCD panel to review property tax collection system
Express News Service Tags : MCD property tax collection system, delhi Posted: Thu Jul 29 2010, 02:03 hrs
New Delhi: The issue of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s low property tax collections dominated its Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday. Members of the deliberative wing from both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress stressed on the imminent need to “restructure MCD’s system of property tax collection”, considering property tax is a prime source of revenue for the cash-strapped civic body.The members also offered other suggestions to improve the tax collection and increase the agency’s tax net, emphasising on the need to get “stricter while enforcing penalty for tax defaulters”. The MCD has now decided to constitute a ‘sub-committee’ to look into the recommendations of the third municipal valuation committee (MVC).
While the agency is yet to decide on its members, once constituted, it will look into the suggestions of the MVC report to review the property tax system, including suggestions to upgrade 168 city colonies to augment collections.
BJP councillors accepted that the civic body needs a more streamlined procedure for launching prosecution proceedings against tax defaulters. They said the agency does not have a system in place to track defaulters and to take action against them at present.
According to its own admission, the assessment and collection department of the MCD is plagued by a number of problems in collecting tax, like general laxity on part of tax-payers, limited manpower for conducting a door-to-door survey to identify eligible tax payers and for realisation of tax, poor enforcement, lack of a database of all properties, etc. Both Congress and BJP councillors suggested the MCD Commissioner must immediately ensure the department is provided adequate workforce.
The MCD must also serve notices to all tax defaulters, including public bodies like the NDPL, the DDA, DJB and the DMRC and ensure suitable penal action is then taken if these bodies do not pay heed to the notices, they added. The agency is also considering simplifying its property tax returns form to encourage more tax-payers to file returns.
Nine lakh properties owners in the city pay tax to the agency at present, officials, however, estimate atleast 22 lakh more properties in the city are eligible to be brought under the tax net.
