The Hindu          06.03.2017   

Mysuru City Corporation to crack down on property tax defaulters

A file photo of properties in Mysuru. MCC had already issued notices
to the defaulters under the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act
1976.M_A_SRIRAM
 

The civic body still has to get more than Rs. 134 crore of tax for 2016-17

With more than Rs. 134 crore of property tax yet to be collected, out
of the Rs. 221 crore due from 1.92 lakh listed properties in the city,
the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has sought to act against defaulters
by threatening to seize their movable property.

In a statement
here, the civic body said that they had collected only Rs. 87.80 crore
out of the estimated Rs. 221 crore property tax this year. It is also
finding it difficult to execute its development works.

The MCC had
already issued notices to the defaulters under the Karnataka Municipal
Corporations Act 1976. “The property owners had three months from April 1
to pay the tax. After the deadline ended in June-end, the MCC first
issued a notice to pay the property tax dues in 30 days. When there was
no reply, a second set of notices had been issued to pay the dues in 15
days,” a MCC official said.

In a statement here recently, MCC
Commissioner G. Jagadeesha said that the civic body will invoke
provisions under Section 147 of the Act to seize the movable property if
the defaulters fail to pay their dues along with penal fee in the next
15 days.

“Our personnel will visit the premises, conduct mahazar
and seize the movable property,” a MCC official said. Meanwhile, the
revenue officials of all the nine MCC zones in the city are engaged in
reassessing the properties for tax in view of the widespread under
valuing. “Several property owners had assessed a lesser area for payment
of property tax. Such properties had been reassessed by the revenue
officials and collection of property tax as per the revised assessment
was also underway,” the official added.

The
MCC, while presenting its Budget for 2016-17, had targeted a collection
of Rs. 199 crore from property tax and khata transfer fees.

Meanwhile,
a team of MCC officials led by elected representatives, including
Nandeesh Preetam, paid a surprise visit to a mall on M.G. road in the
city and asked the owners to clear the pending dues to the civic body.