Mumbai: The BMC has filed suit in court initiating legal action against property tax defaulters whose cheques, issued in the financial year 2023 - 2024 had bounced. The civic body has to recover Rs 5.71 crore from these defaulters. Dishonour of a cheque is a criminal offence and punishable by both imprisonment and fine.
As per data till March 31, 2024, all the cheques deposited in the bank in the last financial year, around 892 cheques amounting to Rs 43.54 crores were dishonoured because of insufficient funds in the bank accounts.
Most defaulters were builders and owners of commercial premises, societies and a few individuals, said civic sources. The BMC had sent a notice to these defaulters under section 138 - Negotiable Instruments Act 1881.
After which the civic body could recover Rs. 37.83 crores from 853 defaulters in the past few months. However, a warning issued to 38 defaulters went unheeded.
"We find such defaulters every year that do not maintain sufficient bank balance. We have sent notices and reminders to these defaulters, so now a case has been filed against them," said a senior civic official.
As per data from the assessor and collection department, around 3,945 properties have been attached worth over Rs. 2,237 crore since 2010. After facing a severe cash crunch during the pandemic, the civic authorities started cracking down on property tax defaulters.
However, despite not having sufficient balance, the defaulters issue cheques to avoid BMC action like disconnection of water supply or attachment of properties for non-payment. Property tax is the second-highest revenue source of the BMC.
The BMC managed to collect Rs. 3,195 crore as property tax, which is Rs. 1,300 crore, short of the Rs. 4,500 crore target set for the 2023-24 fiscal. The civic body has focused on big defaulters to recover the loss of revenue. However, due to delay in sending the bills, the BMC will not be charging 2 percent interest per month on the property tax paid till May 25.
