The Times of India            06.05.2013

Property tax offices to be open on holidays

The civic body has offered a 10% discount on tax of Rs 25,000 or less and a 5% discount on the amount above Rs 25,001.

"The tax payments will be accepted at the collection centres in ward offices and at the citizen facilitation centre in the PMC's head office in Shivajinagar," a press release issued by the civic body said.

Citizens will be able to make payments between 10 am and 2 pm on holidays.

Property tax is one of the main sources of revenue for the civic body. The department handles the billing and collection of property tax on residential, commercial, plots and other types of properties - held privately or by the government (state and central) - within the civic limits.

Property tax is charged on immovable property, such as land, buildings and any permanent improvement. It may also include building tax plus service taxes such as street tax and conservancy or scavenging tax. The tax is collected either half yearly or annually. There are around 7 lakh residential properties and 75,000 non-residential properties and around 24,000 open plots in the city.

The civic body had decided to involve women's self-help groups (SHGs) and NGOs in distribution of property tax bills. It helped increase the collection by three times this year, so far, as compared to the previous fiscal.

"The civic administration wants to improve bill distribution so that more citizens pay them on time. So, a target-based system for bill distribution has been set up wherein the NGOs and women self-help groups have been engaged to carry out the work," Hemant Nikam, the head of PMC's property tax department, had said.

The civic administration will charge a penalty of 2 per cent per month from citizens who pay property tax after May 31.

The collection of the property tax department has gathered more significance this year as the PMC has done away with the octroi tax, which was one of the key revenue sources for the PMC.

The administration has collected nearly Rs 115 crore from property tax in the first month of the new fiscal, i.e. April 2013. On an average, it collects around Rs 600 crore per annum from the tax, which is an average of Rs 50 crore per month.

The property tax department has been embroiled in controversy over the billing distribution system. Many property users have complaints about not getting the property tax bills on time. Many property owners claim that they could not get the benefit of the discount scheme as they have not got their property bills on time.

With an aim to overcome this problem, the PMC has taken a decision to involve women's self-help groups (SHGs) and NGOs in distribution of property tax bills.