Some 27 shops at a multi-storied structure in the posh Scheme No 54 area that have allegedly evaded property for two years are now under the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) scanner. The shops are located at Shagun, one of the commercial buildings identified by the IMC for a tax recovery campaign as part of its ongoing campaign to shore up revenue.

Sources said an assistant revenue officer (ARO) posted at municipal zone number 11 declared that 27 shops, sized between 700 to 3,200 square feet, at the multistoried building had not deposited property tax for two years.

“We have asked him to submit a report so that we can open property tax accounts and proceed with the recovery,” said an official. He said the AROs had been given ten days to submit reports for all seven buildings.

IMC secretary Rajangaonkar said an estimated 25,000 commercial properties were currently outside the property tax ambit. “A total of 75,000 properties are listed in our records but I feel that the number of commercial properties should be more. The actual building figure would be around 1 lakh,” he declared.

Rajangaonkar said the exercise would be carried out in a phased manner. “More multi-storied buildings will be added soon. We’ll be able to cover all the commercial properties,” he added. The IMC secretary said commercial structures were easier recovery targets because they were “usually located on the (main) road and didn’t have ownership and domestic squabbles that affect property tax collection in residential areas.”