The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has issued notices to around 40,000 residents whose property tax records of any financial year or payment receipts are not available with the civic body, officials said on Wednesday.
They said that in some cases people have also been asked to furnish their tax payment details since 2004, but the number of such cases is “miniscule”.
According to officials, the move is aimed to track those who have not filed property tax for years and also to serve the purpose of updating records.
“The civic body has issued nearly 30,000 to 40,000 notices in cases where PTR (property tax record) details of any financial year or tax payment receipt is not available with us,” an MCD official told PTI.
The official said that the move is envisioned at tracking down the non-filers (who do not pay property tax) and to ensure that all eligible taxpayers honestly pay their property tax, adding that it will also help ensure transparency in the system and serve the purpose of updating records.
He said that out of total notices, only in 5 to 6 per cent cases people have been asked to furnish their tax payment details since 2004.
Only those property owners, who have not paid tax at all or their tax records are not found in the system for the past seven-eight years, have been asked to furnish details since 2004, officials said.
“By issuing notice, the civic body is not doing anything out of its jurisdiction. This exercise is in accordance with the DMC Act,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party alleged that the BJP-led MCD has found another way to “intimidate and extort” people of Delhi, and demanded that all the notices be immediately withdrawn.
“If it is about showing receipt for a period of six months or so, one can easily do that,” AAP’s in-charge of political affairs in MCD Durgesh Pathak said.
“But how can a person show receipts of the payment made towards house tax since 2004?” he asked.
Even the Lieutenant Governor and BJP leaders themselves will not be able to give house tax receipts for so many years, he added.
People of Delhi would not “tolerate such harassment”, Pathak said and demanded that the MCD withdraw its decision.
The AAP leader claimed that MCD has all the relevant documents with it, and the civic body can easily ascertain the defaulters and take necessary action against them.
In Delhi, around 13 lakh residents pay property tax across 12 zones. Property tax is levied by the civic body for residential and commercial properties according to a slab fixed using multiple categories.
The officials said that respondents do not necessarily need to come to the office to submit the proof. They can send their payment slip or other proof either through email or can send through a given WhatsApp number, they said.
“Since the tax is submitted either online or through cheques and demand drafts, in absence of payment slips, people can also provide their bank statement detailing payment to the civic body as tax against their property,” the official said.
On Monday, Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena launched an incentive scheme for resident welfare associations to ensure property tax compliance and waste management in the city.
Under the SAH-BHAGITA scheme, RWAs will get 15 per cent of the total collection of property tax for development works in their areas.