The municipal corporation (MC) has served Rs 44 crore property tax recovery notice on the UT administration, demanding the amount be paid by December 15. This is the second notice the administration has got — the first was for Rs 10 crore in August.
The second notice was served to the sub-division number 3 of the engineering department, according to the records of the MC. The civic body had prepared details of the arrears and amount pending against each building of the administration.
“Since division number 3 of the engineering department is the custodian of all the buildings falling under the jurisdiction of the Chandigarh administration, the tax recovery notices have been sent to them only instead of sending separate notices to each building. Division number 3 officials and employees maintain these buildings on a regular basis,” sources in the MC said.
Sources said the engineering department had recently submitted details of properties related to the tax amount and they were being scrutinised. “We have got some information from division number 3 and our employees are matching the data. For now, the administration has to pay Rs 54 crore in dues,” sources said.
The MC has recovered over 90% property tax from both residential and commercial properties and sent notices to the remaining building owners under the two categories.
“The key focus is now on government buildings. A significant number of employees of the tax branch is dealing with tax-related cases of government properties,” an official said. Recently, departments of the central and Punjab governments were issued tax recovery notices.