With property tax dues piling up to ₹148 crore over the past decade, the municipal corporation has issued tax default notices to around 1,000 government and commercial buildings owners in Chandigarh.
While autonomous bodies owe the civic body ₹43 crore in property tax, institutional buildings owe it ₹31 crore, government buildings ₹30 crore and commercial buildings ₹28 crore. Of the total dues, ₹9.3 crore is owed by the UT administration’s Capital Project Division, which has around 700 government buildings under its purview, including police stations, government schools, anganwadi centres and tubewells.
Confirming this, municipal corporation commissioner Anindita Mitra said the notices were issued under Section 138 (manner of recovering tax) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, which authorises the commissioner to attach, sell or seal the property of tax defaulters. Each notice has a two-week deadline.
“We have been attaching and sealing the of buildings of defaulters over the past month. We have already sealed 17 properties and attached 339 buildings in the city,” she said, adding that government buildings were also liable to pay service charges at 75% of the property tax as per the provisions of the tax bylaws framed under the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, as extended to Chandigarh.
Letters have been issued to the heads of government building and we have asked them to pay the amount, following which action will be initiated within two weeks, she said.
{{/usCountry}}Letters have been issued to the heads of government building and we have asked them to pay the amount, following which action will be initiated within two weeks, she said.
{{/usCountry}}A senior officer of UT administration, requesting anonymity, said there was some issue in reconciliation of the property tax due. “We are in the process of reconciling the amount and will clear the dues of UT buildings in Chandigarh,” he said,
The civic body has been levying property tax on commercial land and buildings since November 22, 2004. Around 23,000 commercial units, including government buildings, fall within the MC limits. The property tax on residential land and buildings, also known as house tax, was imposed from 2015-16 onwards, except for properties having covered area less than 500 square feet.
Hotel Taj deposits ₹70 lakh
The management of Hotel Taj, Sector 17 has deposited a principal amount of ₹70.80 lakh against an outstanding sum of ₹1.65 crore. It has sought time from the civic body to deposit the interest.
At a glance
Property tax payers – 1.36 lakh
Residential tax payers – 1.06 lakh
Commercial tax payers – 30,000
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Type of property Outstanding amount
Commercial ₹28 crore
Industrial ₹8.5 crore
Institutional ₹31 crore
Residential ₹7.50 crore
Government ₹30.24 crore
Autonomous bodies ₹43 crore
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Properties attached in 2022-23
Total attachments 339
Outstanding sum ₹2.5 crore
Amount recovered ₹1.42 crore
Sealed properties 17
De-sealed properties 13
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Major defaulters
UT’s Capital Project Division ₹9.30 crore
PGIMER ₹8 crore
PU estate Branch ₹6 crore
Railway station ₹2.3 crore
Hotel Shivalik View ₹1.2 crore
PEC director’s office ₹2.3 crore
Mini Secretariat, Haryana ₹1.42 crore
Delhi Public School, Sector 40 ₹1 crore
MC’s MOH building, Sector 25 ₹1 crore
Punjab Mini-Secretariat ₹83.41 lakh
HRTC workshop ₹65 lakh
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Tax collection from 2020- 23
2020-21- ₹61 crore
2021-22- ₹70 crore
2022-23*- ₹61 crore
*Collection of property tax from residential and commercial properties till January 2