MCD offers interest waiver scheme to collect property tax arrears

In order to ensure collection of property tax arrears which is worth many crores of rupees, the North Municipal Corporation of Delhi has offered a scheme from August 19th. As per the new settlement scheme, penalty and interest on property tax payments will be waived off.

The new scheme will be applicable till November 30, which is likely to benefit thousands of residents. As per the MCD records, property tax worth crores of rupees is lying unpaid against several government and private establishments, for which the Corporation is trying new methods to collect it.

Such a scheme was needed from a long time to collect the tax arrears, opined the chairman of the high-powered property tax committee of the NDMC. The civic authority has already issued all required directions to all property tax offices so that the scheme can be effectively implemented and accomplished, he added. The NDMC has also put out many advertisements about the scheme in all major newspapers by means of which, all the property owners would be aware of the same.

As per the sources from the civic body, the scheme would benefit four types of property owners including-
i. ex-parte assessment under old rateable value system
ii. rateable value already determined on merit
iii. cases on unit area method
iv. owners whose cases are pending in court and are willing to resolve them out of the court

The property tax payments under this scheme are only accepted through pay-order or demand draft. Apart from this, the scheme allows any property owner to lodge complaint with the civic body, in case he opines that his case is simply being dragged or if he is being harassed in some way.

A property tax settlement scheme has come up for the first time for Unit Area System cases, after its implementation in 2004. Pending property tax under unit area system can also be disposed of under this new scheme, said the chairman.

The scheme was started only after taking feedback from citizens, said sources. On the flip side, many property owners alleged that, they wanted to pay their property tax arrears but they are unhappy with the assessment orders passed by the authority against their properties. Some of the owners have also claimed that a much higher property tax has been imposed on their properties and because of this reason they are not coming forth to pay their property tax arrears.