The Early Bird Scheme rolled out by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has evoked an extremely encouraging response from property tax payers in the twin-city. The incentive for those who opted to clear their property taxes on or before June 30 and on or before July 31, respectively is five and three percent respectively.
The property tax department reported a record ₹71 crore collection within just three months of the current financial year as the five percent discount scheme ended on June 30. “Citizens can still avail three percent discount by paying taxes before July 31.” said civic chief -Dilip Dhole.
40% of payments was received through digital mode
There has been a significant surge in collections through digital modes of payments, including links on the municipal website (mbmc.gov.in/property) and mobile application (MyMBMC) facilitated by the civic administration. Out of the total collection so far, around 40 percent was received from property owners through digital modes. One of the major revenue generators for the MBMC, property tax collections amounting ₹280 crore has been projected for the current fiscal.
However, the administration is skeptical about the projections and expects realistic collections limited between ₹225 to ₹230 crore owing to the presence of thousands of “ghost” (non-existent) and multiple entries (of a single account) in its property tax registry. The assessed number of properties in the twin city is currently pegged at around 3,68,501, including 63,498 commercial and 3,05,003 residential units. Apart from the computer facilitation centre (CFC) at the MBMC headquarters and six ward offices, the civic administration has facilitated additional collection counters for the convenience of taxpayers.
