Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is facing significant challenges in collecting property taxes from some of the city’s most prestigious institutions, hotels, developers, educational institutions, charitable trusts, and malls.As of May 18, nearly 3.63 lakh properties owe Rs 711.1 crore in taxes. Bommanahalli tops the list with 57,043 properties owing Rs 95 crore, followed by Rajarajeshwari Nagar with 55,073 properties owing Rs 54.31 crore. Additionally, 1,66,557 properties are supposed to pay a difference amount of Rs 231.77 crore.
“We are sending daily SMS messages and making IVR-based calls to these defaulters and revision cases. But they are not paying their tax arrears. We will start special enforcement for recovery as per law soon,” said Munish Moudgil, special commissioner BBMP (revenue), told.
This is not the first time BBMP has made such a list public, yet many of these defaulters continue to evade tax payments. Property tax is a crucial revenue source for the BBMP, and some properties have had tax arrears for decades, posing a persistent challenge for the revenue department.
The BBMP relies heavily on property tax collections to fund essential civic services, infrastructure projects, and urban development initiatives. However, the reluctance of high-profile defaulters to clear their dues is undermining these efforts.
Many of the defaulters on the BBMP’s list have consistently ignored multiple notices over the years. Despite efforts by BBMP officials to enforce compliance, including issuing notices, sealing properties, confiscating inheritances and immovable property, and even seizing bank accounts, many property owners remain indifferent to their tax obligations.
