The Times of India 04.09.2012
Residents fined as officials delay tax payment
CHENNAI: A resident of T Nagar, who had given a cheque for Rs 800 as property tax to an assistant revenue officer, has not received a receipt for the payment even a month later. When he called the officer to remind him, the officer shouted at him and said: "I haven't given receipts for payments which were made two months before. Why are you disturbing me?" The man then called mayor Saidai Duraisamy on Saturday and complained about the official's response.
Inquiries have shown that in
several cases, assistant revenue officers in the zonal levels do not
depositzheques on time. As a result, a resident is fined for late
payment. "Many residents who had to pay fines protested. We now suspect
that many of the residents had submitted their payment on time," said a
senior corporation official.
Now, the corporation has decided
to issue strict instructions to revenue officers. "They will now have to
deposit cheques and update the data base every day," said the mayor.
"We are also trying to come up with software in which a resident's name
and property tax number is entered every time a cheque is deposited, so
that it can be tracked," said the mayor.
Property tax is paid to the Corporation of Chennai
twice a year. It can either be paid in banks allotted by the
corporation, paid online on the civic body's website or to the assistant
revenue officer (ARO) who goes from door-to-door. "The ARO usually goes
on rounds reminding residents to pay the tax and once to collect the
payment," said another corporation official.
When the revenue
officers don't deposit the cheques on time, fines are levied on
residents and it creates a problem with the accounting cycles. The delay
in depositing cheques will also lead to work piling up before the
deadline, said the official. "The delay could also lead to the cheque
expiring," he said.
