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THE PCMC has decided to intensify its drive against property tax defaulters, especially those who owe more than Rs 25 lakh dues to the civic body. There are 118 such defaulters, who have not paid their taxes for years, officials said.
In his directives, Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Patil asked officials to start acting against such defaulters from April 1. “Their properties should be confiscated if they fail to pay the dues by March 31,” read the civic chief’s directive.
The PCMC has also put the names of such big defaulters on its website. Patil has directed that the list should be put up at prominent spots in zonal offices as well.
The action comes as the civic body is falling short of this year’s tax collection target. So far, the tax department has collected Rs 495 crore in property tax and is still falling short by Rs 375 crore from its annual target of Rs 870 crore.
Deputy municipal commissioner Smita Zagade, however, said, “Our tax collection, to date, is far better than tax collected in the last three years. It should be borne in mind that in the last fortnight of the fiscal end, maximum people pay tax. Therefore, we are expecting to meet the target by March 31.”
The PCMC has also decided to provide some relief to property tax defaulters. Zagade said those who had illegal constructions could pay tax without penalty. “They can pay the original tax amount and need not worry about penalty, which is imposed on illegal constructions. This relief is available to them only till March 31. After that, we will start confiscating properties,” she added.
Another relief that the PCMC is offering to defaulters is related to a waiver. Under this, those who pay entire taxes at one go before March 31 will get 75 per cent relief on delayed fee, Zagade said.
“Under the amnesty scheme, so far, 7,401 property tax owners have taken advantage. They have paid a collective amount of Rs 88 crore so far. However, if despite offering relief, if people fail to pay up, we will start confiscating properties,” she added.
The PCMC has appealed to tax defaulters to take advantage of the relief announced by the civic body. “We request people to take advantage of relief measures and pay taxes by March 31,” the civic chief said.
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