The Hindu 04.08.2010
Plan to launch property tax payment through ATM
Aloysius Xavier Lopez
| Bank officials hold discussions with Corporation Commissioner |
— Photo: R. Ragu 
NEW FACILITY: Property tax remittance through ATMs is expected to help a large number of taxpayers in Chennai.
CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation is planning to launch property tax payment through Automated Teller Machine (ATM) of banks.
Senior officials of the State Bank of India recently held discussions with Commissioner of the Corporation Rajesh Lakhoni on commissioning of the new facility.
It is expected to ensure a hassle-free mode of property tax payment. Many other banks have also come forward to be part of the system.
Provision would be made in the system for the taxpayer to remit the property tax by feeding the zone number, ward number, bill number and sub-number (apartments in a complex and divided properties have sub-numbers).
The payment can be made after the system provides the details of the total amount to be paid.
The taxpayer may then download the receipt from the Corporation website at his own convenience and take printouts.
“Any person can make use of the facility to pay the property tax, not necessarily a SBI customer,” said an official of the Corporation. The system with the payment gateway would be designed to update the data instantaneously, the official added.
As access to ATMs is better in the city limits, this mode of property tax payment is expected to be of help for a large number of taxpayers, said the official.
A chunk of the property tax in the city is being collected by door-to-door operations through handheld devices.
Online and integrated voice response system (IVRS) are other modes of payment of property tax.
If properly implemented, the ATM mode of payment would become one of the most popular among property taxpayers, the official said. IVRS for property tax enquiry and payment was launched by Chennai Corporation this year.
