The civic body has started the process of appointing a private organisation to search for more  immovable properties and investments of 67 defaulters in order to recover property tax. These property owners owe a total of over Rs 355 crore, which includes basic tax of Rs 268 crore and penalty of Rs 87 crore. This is the first time that the BMC has taken steps to seize and auction other properties of property tax defaulters.

Property tax is a major source of income for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). But it has not been able to meet the property tax target for the past seven years and overall revenue has seen a notable decline. In the current financial year, the civic assessment and collection department has collected Rs 4,767 crore till March 22, with less than a week in hand before the financial year ends. The target was Rs 7,000 crore, considering a 14 per cent hike. However, the state government struck down the hike and the BMC revised its target to Rs 4,800 crore. Last year, 2021-22, the total property tax collection was Rs 5,792 crore.