The BMC collected a record Rs100 crore as property tax in a single day from defaulters in all the 24 administrative wards on Tuesday. The civic body has recovered only 35% of tax for 2023-24 and is finding it challenging to meet the Rs2,978 core target by March 31. The BMC has collected only Rs1,622 crore so far.
The provisional bills issued with a 20% hike were withdrawn by the BMC in December 2023. As a result, the revenue from property tax for the current financial year was revised to Rs4,500 crore from the initial estimate of Rs6,000 crore. However, citizens had only a month to pay, which resulted in less revenue collection this year. As property tax is the second-highest revenue source of the BMC, the authorities have set a target to track big defaulters.
A list of defaulters is prepared every day and a team at ward-level visits their house or workplace to convince them. “As the bills were issued on February 27, the regular taxpayers can clear their dues by May 25. But the defaulters who are deliberately delaying will have to pay the arrears by March 31 or will have to face the music,” said a civic official.
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