The Times of India  04.09.2010

PUNE: Starting October 2010, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will execute the state government's notification to impose a two per cent penalty on property tax defaulters.

The state government on May 31, 2010, issued a notification, according to which the civic body has been authorised to impose a fine of two per cent every month if the property tax is not paid in the given period of time.

For the year 2010-11 property tax for the first six months has to be paid before September 30, 2010, and those who fail to pay it will have to pay a two per cent penalty on the tax amount every month till the tax is paid. The second instalment of the property tax has to be paid before December 31, 2010.

"The standing committee on Friday approved the proposal to impose a penalty. This will help the PMC to collect property tax on time and even citizens will respond positively to paying on time," said standing committee chairman, Arvind Shinde while speaking to reporters.

In the last two years, the PMC has brought nearly 80,000 properties under its tax net. However, an estimated 45,000 properties still remain out of its reach. The standing committee has repeatedly told the administration to make an effort to widen its tax net. Once the unassessed properties come under the tax net, the civic body is expected to get an additional revenue of Rs 100 to 150 crore.

The PMC's tax collection and assessment department has already submitted a plan to the standing committee. After octroi, property tax is a major source of revenue for the civic body. The department has proposed that digital pictures of all properties be taken for records and an aluminium plate be fixed on each property, identifying its survey number and other details.

The Times of India   04.09.2010

SWM cess could take some time

BANGALORE: Though the BBMP is quite enthusiastic about imposing the SWM cess on citizens, there could be some hurdles. According to former mayor P R Ramesh, "The cess cannot be collected even now, despite the legal sanction. For this provision to be implemented, there are some pending formalities. All this cannot be completed within the next six months. There's a clear-cut process to implement these user charges and it cannot be implemented in the middle of a financial year. Whatever they want to collect must be in the public domain."

BUDGET BLUNDER?

It's not just the Rs 150 crore revenue estimate from this SWM user charge in the budget that hits the eye. There's a bigger surprise: the book of budget estimates for 2010-11 lists a Rs 40-crore budget estimate (2009-10) and Rs 1.52 lakh as revised estimate (2009-10) under the same category. The user charge can come into effect only from the day it is implemented, and this is possible only when the council passes a resolution.

Almost all old-time BBMP officials, veteran corporators and former mayors contacted confirmed that this user charge has not been collected ever since it was included in the KMC Act in 2002-03, as the council has to pass it.