The Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) has started issuing recovery notices against property tax defaulters.
There are around 30,000 residential property tax payers who have failed to pay the tax within the stipulated time period. Of these, the MC has already issued notice to around 3,500 defaulters, disclosed sources.
MC officials said that the the drive against the defaulters will be stepped up in the coming days.
There are around 1.42 lakh property tax assessees in the city, including both residential and commercial property tax owners. Of them, 1.12 lakh are residential properties which fall under the property tax net.
“If tax is paid by May 31, 2023, assessees were to get rebate. But the defaulters now face 25% penalty and interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the date of issuance of the bill to the date of actual payment,” said officials.
In addition to that, action will also be initiated to recover arrears under Section 138 of the Municipal Corporation Act.
“The MC has calculated property tax for assessment year 2023-24 under clause 2 (ix) of the MC Property Bylaws 2003 under self-assessment scheme. Public notices as well as individual demand notices had been raised for collection of property tax dues from 1.42 lakh assessees,” said sources.
Around 81,000 assessees, both commercial and residential, paid the property tax with MC netting around Rs 44 crore during the rebate period. Of the total 30,000 commercial assesses, around 16,200 cleared their dues by paying around Rs 27 crore. Besides, around Rs 13 crore was paid by the residential tax payers.
Panjab University, which has largest property dues pending against its name — around Rs 23 crore — paid around Rs 1 crore. PGI, which has outstanding amount of Rs 12 crore, paid Rs 88 lakh property tax, and Chandigarh administration paid Rs 1.38 crore.
The MC has this year added around 6,000 new assessees to the property tax net. The MC has collated data from different UT departments to better assess the properties in the city that should come under the property tax net, but have so far been able to evade it. The civic body had hired Indian Post Office to deliver the property tax bills this time.
