Though there has been an increase of 24.79 % in property tax collection, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has still fallen short by 60.1% if targeted tax collection is taken into account. The first four months of this fiscal year have proven financially beneficial for BBMP, as it has seen a 24.79% increase in its tax collection. The total tax collection across all eight zones rose from ā¹2,457.30 crore (April 1, 2023, to July 31, 2023) to ā¹3,065.82 crore (April 1, 2024, to July 31, 2024).
BBMP Chief CommissionerĀ Tushar Giri NathĀ explained that three main factors contributed to this rise. āFirstly, defaulters who had not paid for a long time have now contributed ā¹184 crore. Out of 3,95,250 defaulters, 1,07,344 have paid taxes under the One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme, bringing an additional ā¹271.50 crore to the tax kitty.ā However, if all 3.95 lakh defaulters had paid their taxes, BBMP could have collected ā¹733.31 crore. This leaves 2,74,721 defaulters, from whom BBMP is yet to collect ā¹516.21 crore. The OTS target shortfall is estimated to be a whopping 70.4%. Yet, BBMP is happy that it at least brought 29.6% into the tax net.
Secondly, many property owners revised their self-assessment, he said. Although BBMP had expected that 16,501 properties would undergo tax revisions under the self-assessment scheme, potentially bringing in ā¹222.38 crore, the first four months saw an upward revision in property taxes for 6,723 properties, resulting in an additional ā¹163.13 crore. However, 16,904 properties are yet to be revised, leaving BBMP to collect ā¹282.59 crore with an estimated shortfall to be 26.7%. Overall, BBMP had anticipated collecting ā¹956.09 crore in property tax from 4,11,751 properties as of April 1, 2024, it has only managed to collect ā¹380.63 crore from 1,14,067 properties by July 31, 2024. This means BBMP still needs to collect ā¹831.53 crore from 3,04,810 defaulters.
Although July 31 was the deadline for OTS, there was a significant surge in property tax payments on Wednesday, causing server issues. In response, the BBMP central office and other tax offices remained open late into the night. Those unable to pay online submitted SAS applications and made payments offline through demand drafts and cheques. On Wednesday alone, offline payments amounted to ā¹150 crore.
Nath said, āThe NIC software has crashed, and we have received many representations and complaints. This issue will be discussed at the government level. We will review the situation and gather details on how many could not pay.āBBMP officials have announced that notices will be sent to property tax defaulters, with the possibility of auctioning properties ahead. Property owners who have not paid their taxes will receive three notices. If payment is not made after these notices, the revenue department will take stringent actions.
Bommanahalli witnessed an increase in property tax collection from ā¹267.12 crore in the first four months of 2023 to ā¹316.10 crore in the first four months of this fiscal year, reflecting an 18.32% growth. Dasarahalliās collections rose from ā¹70.58 crore to ā¹96.21 crore.
The East zone, a major contributor, increased its collection from ā¹456.69 crore in 2023 to ā¹544.46 crore in 2024. Mahadevapura saw a substantial rise from ā¹643.43 crore to ā¹808.40 crore. Rajarajeshwari Nagarās collections improved from ā¹163.99 crore to ā¹212.42 crore. The South zone saw an increase from ā¹385.86 crore to ā¹459.01 crore. The West zone, which had ā¹267.36 crore in 2023, collected ā¹337.82 crore in 2024. Yelahanka experienced a significant rise, from ā¹202.27 crore to ā¹291.40 crore.
