Ever since the public dealing resumed in all the government offices from Tuesday, the tax branch of the municipal corporation is flooded with queries.
A crowd lands at the office every day with a heap of questions. The branch also gets hundreds of telephone calls from people who want to know how to file property tax and sort out anomalies. Most queries are regarding change in the name of the properties holder.
There are also questions related to constructed area, difference in calculated tax and arrears. The tax branch has different sections for each kind of query, to which the calls are diverted for resolution of the issue.
An MC official said: “Since many properties in the city are disputed, we have to keep record at hand to resolve the issues promptly. The officers concerned are good at cross-checking records, so that tax payment isn’t delayed or halted. They sort out issues regarding arrears, too.”
The MC has tied-up with the postal department to deliver property tax bills. The job is almost over in the residential areas and going to start in the commercial zones. The civic body has a record of 1.10-lakh property tax payers, of which, 85,000 are in the residential category and 26,000-odd in the commercial segment.
The civic body has a tax collection target of Rs 50 crore for this financial year. As decided, owners of both commercial and residential property can get tax rebate if they pay their dues by July 31, for the current financial year. The concession is 20% is the residential category and 10% in the commercial segment until the deadline. After that, there’s 25% penalty and 12% interest on the total amount.