Notice to James Hotel for defaulting on ₹93-lakh property tax

The Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) has sent a notice of ₹92.85 lakh to James Hotel for non-payment of property tax. A similar notice has been served on TDI

The Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) has sent a notice of ₹92.85 lakh to James Hotel for non-payment of property tax. A similar notice has been served on TDI Mall Jagat, also in Sector 17, for defaulting on payment of ₹42 lakh.

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The fund-starved MC is issuing notices for property tax arrears pending since 2004. “James Hotel has paid this year’s tax, but the previous year’s tax is pending. Hence, a notice has been issued,” said an MC official.

The civic body had sent a notice of ₹59.92 lakh to TDI Mall Jagat on September 18, following which its operator deposited ₹17 lakh by October 10. Now, a revised notice has been issued to recover the pending amount.

Reportedly, about 27% of property tax payers in the city have defaulted on their payments. Against last year’s collection of ₹53 crore, MC has till September collected only ₹40 crore in property tax. This tax is a major source of MC’s revenue.

For recovering more than ₹8 crore in unpaid property tax bills, the MC has issued notices to at least 27,000 defaulters. Of these, 15,000 are residential and 12,000 commercial.

Nearly 150 buildings of the UT administration have also been put on the defaulters list for owing the civic body more than ₹10 crore in unpaid property tax.

A notice in this regard has already been issued to the executive engineer of the UT engineering department, under whose jurisdiction these buildings fall. The dues are pending for the period between 2004 and March 2020.

If the pending dues are not deposited in time, these buildings can be sealed.