BMC gives property tax defaulters one last chance to pay dues

Property tax defaulters owe a whopping Rs 15,000 crore, as per BMC. Representation pic

The BMC will give the last chance to property tax defaulters, whose properties were attached last year, to pay the dues within 15 days from receiving notice, failing which their assets will be auctioned. The civic body has attached more than 11,000 properties including open plots, commercial and residential spaces as well as valuable machine equipment and one helicopter. Property tax is a major source of income for the BMC. Last year the civic body collected Rs 3,735.05 crore against its estimate of Rs 5,016.19 crore revenue from property tax.

Officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Assessment and Collection Department said that the defaulters owe a whopping Rs 15,000 crore and that the civic body has attached a total of 11,661 properties last year, including 5,821 open plots, buildings, commercial and residential places. An official added that the process to auction these properties were taken up last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it will start after the end of this financial year.

Elaborating on the process, Sunil Dhamne, joint commissioner of the Assessment and Collection Department, said, "We will start the auction after April 2022. Firstly, we will appoint a valuer to fix the cost of the property. After the valuer fixes the cost, BMC will send a final notice to the defaulter to pay within 15 days. If the defaulter pays his dues, we will stop the auction. But if they fail, BMC will auction the property."

This year's collection

The civic body issues bills for a particular financial year in May while the deadline for paying 50 per cent of the tax is August and the remaining is to be paid in December. For this financial year, BMC has recovered Rs 5,030 crore property tax with dues, as against R6,000 crore. "We will achieve the target by March-end," said Dhamne.

11,661
No. of properties attached last year