Bengaluru: 40 Per Cent Owners Don’t Pay Property Tax Regularly, Say BBMP Officials

According to officials of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, owners of two out of every five properties in Bengaluru avoid paying property tax promptly, reports TOI.

The Civic body’s property tax information system enabled by a geographic information system has identified 19 lakh properties in its limits out of which only 11.5 lakh properties are accounted for. The BBMP can generate Rs 4,000 crore if every property is tax compliant, claimed officials.

With less than three months to go in the current financial year, the agency has collected Rs 2,220 crore in taxes. The BBMP is in a race against time to meet its tax target of Rs 3,100 crore.“A large number of properties, especially vacant plots in new BBMP areas, are regular defaulters,” said BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad

“Owners of vacant plots are not traceable to serve notice. Some of them do pay, once every 2-3 years,” he added.

He also said that there would be warrants issued against the defaulters by the end of this financial year and if ignored the officials will have the power to seize moveable assets in the errant property and auction them, said Prasad.

BBMP would be able to provide better facilities for its residents if every citizen promptly pays their taxes and if property tax potential is indeed realized along with the help of grants given by the government, he added.