E-Paper
Ludhiana MC comes up with new plan to catch property tax defaulters
With an aim to catch property tax defaulters, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) has decided to attach UID numbers of properties with the data collected under the GIS survey conducted by PRSC
With an aim to catch those evading property tax by filing the tax under the wrong category, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has decided to attach the unique identification (UID) numbers of properties with the data collected under the GIS survey conducted by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC).
After this, the pictures of buildings will be put in the system and the MC will be able to compare those with the property details submitted by the owner while filing the tax, which is paid on a self-assessment basis.
For instance, the MC will catch the defaulters if the owner has been submitting the tax under a residential category, but he/she is running a commercial or industrial unit at ground level.
MC officials stated that many residents have been caught in the past who have been submitting the tax under the wrong category to evade the tax. But it is suspected that there are still a large number of properties for which the owners have been submitting the tax under the wrong category.
As per the officials, there are over 4.3 lakh properties in the city and the civic body has obtained data, including pictures of around 2 lakh properties, from the PRSC. The MC is now working to update its system so that pictures could be displayed in the system.
MC commissioner Shena Aggarwal stated that the residents should submit the tax correctly. An 11 percent penalty will be imposed on the residents who will be caught evading the tax. The staff is working to update the system and steps are also being taken to establish a single window for payment of property tax and water-sewer charges for facilitating the residents. Currently, residents have to visit separate counters in MC offices for payment of property tax and water-sewer charges.
