The Hindu 05.05.2010
GHMC aims to double property tax revenue
Special Correspondent
| Collecting data from various sources to issue notices |
Details to be checked with census data to correct anomalies
All the required information will be made ready by May-end
HYDERABAD: Property tax defaulters beware. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is collating data from various sources to issue notices for the current financial year of 2010-2011, with an aim to double its tax collection by plugging leaks in the tax net.
Having sourced household information from the Central Power Distribution Company Limited (CPDCL) and Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) a few months ago, it is gathering data about business properties and trades from the commercial taxes department.
It also plans to compare household details gathered during the census operations with its own available record to correct anomalies. All the required information will be made ready by the end of next month. Once the data is integrated from different software, special notices would be issued to households and commercial properties having tax discrepancies, said Additional Commissioner (Finance) S. Harikrishna.
“We are estimating to get at least one lakh more non-assessed households into our tax net and a substantial number of commercial properties too. We can easily touch the Rs 1,000 crore in property tax collection if we are able to get the correct data,” he explained.
Targeting big fish
Last year, tax revenue had just crossed the Rs 500 crore mark, thanks to the Government extending the penalty waiver for one more month till April. “We received Rs 18.57 crore last month alone,” he pointed out and admitted that targeting big fish had fetched good collection.
Mr. Harikrishna said all the data pertaining to Building Penalisation Scheme (BPS) had been gathered and that his staffs were going through the 94,000 already processed forms; 34,000-odd ineligible applications and almost equal number eligible applications awaiting final proceedings to compare and contrast with their own available information about the properties.
All ineligible BPS applications would straightaway attract 25 per cent extra tax, he affirmed. Last year of the 11.43 households, about 8.5 households had paid the property tax.
Close to 3.5 lakh are commercial properties and he is aiming to get 10 per cent more into the tax net. In the meantime, regular demand notices are to be issued for the first half of the year within a month.
