Mumbai: With relentless efforts and a cracking whip against big defaulters, the civic officials have been able to collect Rs. 4,856.38 crores property tax, which means 108% against the target of Rs. 4,500 crores for fiscal 2023-24. Due to a delay in sending the bills, the civic body has extended the deadline to pay tax till May 25. Hereafter, the defaulters will now have to pay a 2% late fee on the pending dues.
The legal complexities of new methods of tax calculation badly affected the revenue collection of property tax in 2023-24. The initial target of property tax was revised from Rs. 6,000 crores to Rs.4,500 crores. Since the bills were sent in February, the BMC could collect only Rs. 3,195 crores by March 31. So, the civic body extended the deadline to three months for the citizens to pay property tax without a late fee.
The assessment and collection department set a target and traced big defaulters. "A list of 10 defaulters was released on BMC's website daily. Several defaulters came forward after the action and cleared their dues. We have also attached 24 properties that failed to pay their property tax, amounting to Rs 180 crores. The sealed properties will be auctioned if the owners fails to clear their pending tax. Through team effort, we not only achieved the target but have also added another Rs. 356.38 crores to BMC's kitty," said a senior civic official.
The highest collection of Rs. 2,455 crore from property tax was recorded in the western suburbs, followed by Rs. 1,425 crore in the island city and 968 crores from the eastern suburbs. Around Rs. 170.59 crores was collected in a single day on Saturday. Besides this, Rs.10 crores was collected from properties owned by the government, railways and a port.
Highest collection (Top 5)
Wards, Area Wise property tax collected (Rs.in crores)
K East Jogeshwari, Andheri East: Rs 463
H East Khar, Santacruz, Bandra East: Rs 456
G South Parel, Worli: Rs 419
K West Vile Parle, Andheri West: Rs 406
H West Bandra West: Rs 301
