Pay tax or get your property attached: BMC to defaulters

Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) staff in the past had called for a music band while collecting property taxes from defaulters. File Photo

After the state government in March cleared a bill to waive property tax on residential properties of up to 500 sq ft in Mumbai, the civic body is now focusing on the pending recovery of tax from other property owners. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said this is the last chance for defaulters to pay taxes with 2 per cent of the monthly fine, failing which their properties will be attached. The civic body is preparing a list of defaulters of the last financial year. "The BMC till April 5 has recovered Rs 5,792 crore. The defaulters are allowed to pay tax with a 2 per cent fine every month. Till last week (April 5-10) we recovered Rs 15 crore after the deadline," officials from the BMC's Assessment and Collection (A and C) Department said. An official added, "This fine will rise every month. If a defaulter pays pending property tax after two months, he needs to pay an additional 4 per cent of his bill."

List being prepared

"The BMC is preparing a list of defaulters of the last financial year. As soon as the list is final we will start sending notices to them,'' Joint Municipal Commissioner Sunil Dhamne said. This notice will be for the attachment of the property. We will give some time to defaulters to pay their dues. If defaulters fail to do so, BMC can attach their property," Dhamne added. An official of the A and C departments said, "Preparation of the defaulter list is in the final stage. In the first phase, we will focus on commercial property tax defaulters. We will send notice to the first 100 defaulters."

Defaulters given time

"Around 16.14 lakh residential properties below 500 sq ft get 100 per cent relief from property tax, causing BMC a loss of Rs 462 crore per annum," another official said. As property tax is a major revenue source for BMC, for the last two years we are taking strict action against defaulters," he added.

As our ward office team conducts regular follow-ups like sending reminder notices to taxpayers, tax collection has been rising, said the officer. "BMC recovered Rs 5,792 crore of property tax for the last financial year, which is Rs 700 crore more than the previous year," he added. The billing system is computerised so a fine amount is automatically added to the total bill. "When we send notice of attachment defaulters will get the time of 2 to 3 weeks. Defaulters can even pay dues in this duration with a 2 per cent monthly fine," another official said.

The official further stated, "BMC collects the highest property tax of Rs 526 crore from G/ south ward. This ward includes Lower Parel, Worli, and the Prabhadevi area which is a major commercial hub of Mumbai. From H east, BMC gained Rs 497.90 crore. This ward includes Bandra East (BKC), and Santacruz East." Till 2020-21 defaulters owed a whopping Rs 15,000 crore and the civic body has attached a total of 11,661 properties last year, including 5,821 open plots, buildings, and commercial and residential places he added.

Recovery of tax
Year Recovery
2019-20 3,735 cr
2020-21 4,582 cr
2021-22 5,792 cr
202-23 7,000 cr
(Estimated)

Rs 5,792 cr
Property tax recovered by BMC till April 5