Delhi civic body rolls back user charge, brings property tax amnesty

Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh and Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, at a press conference, said the decisions were taken after meeting with residents’ welfare associations and citizens’ groups

New Delhi

The introduction of the garbage user charge, which is currently being levied along with annual property tax, from this financial year (2025-26) has been opposed by both political parties, as well as the residents’ groups. (HT Archive)

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will roll back the user charge component of the property tax, under which owners were required to pay an additional fee for garbage collection, and introduce a property tax amnesty scheme to help property owners settle past tax dues, MCD mayor Raja Iqbal Singh announced on Tuesday.

Singh, addressing a press conference alongside Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, said the decisions were taken after meeting with residents’ welfare associations and citizens’ groups at the party’s state headquarters at Pant Marg.

Mayor Singh said that no additional user charge will be imposed for the 2025–26 fiscal, and blamed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for inconveniencing residents. “We held an RWA meeting where we listened to all their suggestions. Under the guidance of our state president, we were instructed not to impose any such charges. In the past two and a half years, the AAP enforced a user charge without any discussion. People are willing to pay, but they expect proper facilities in return,” the mayor said.

The introduction of the garbage user charge, which is currently being levied along with annual property tax, from this financial year (2025-26) has been opposed by both political parties, as well as residents’ groups.

“A private member resolution will be introduced in the Delhi Municipal Corporation meeting on Wednesday to ensure that no such charge is imposed in the future,” the mayor said, clarifying that adjustments would be made in the next tax cycle for owners who have already paid the tax and user fee.

A civic official explained that a private member resolution needs to be followed by a departmental formal proposal, which needs to be passed for implementation.

To be sure, the notification on solid waste management bylaws was issued in January 2018, but the section on user fees for residential properties has not been enforced so far, due to strong opposition by councillors. As per the notification, fees of ₹50, ₹100 and ₹200 are to be levied respectively for properties with areas of 50sqm, 51-200sqm, and above 200sqm.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said: “Delhi Municipal Corporation Act of 1957 has no provision for this ‘user charge’, making a legal framework necessary before imposing it... even colonies or group housing societies claiming zero waste generation were not spared from this charge. On the other hand, there are colonies where the corporation has yet to ensure proper sanitation services, yet the charge was imposed.”

Property tax amnesty

Mayor Singh said that under the proposed house tax amnesty scheme, owners needed to pay only the tax for the past five years, with no interest or penalty, to receive a NoC—opposed to the usual levy of taxes for the period starting 2004 on non-compliant properties.

“All suggestions and recommendations made by RWAs today have been noted, and zonal-level meetings will soon be organised by the municipal corporation,” he said.

Property tax collection serves as a key revenue stream for the cash-starved municipal corporation. However, low tax compliance in the city remains a key hurdle for the civic body. This year, the property tax department has tentatively collected around ₹2,163 crores from around 1.3 million taxpayers. There are around 4 million estimated properties in the city.

A senior municipal official explained that a similar amnesty scheme was earlier announced three years ago and the corporation was expecting around 100,000-200,000 new properties to be added to the tax net by bringing in an amnesty. While delivering the annual budget in December 2023, former commissioner Gynesh Bharti informed that at least 132,000 taxpayers took advantage of it, helping the corporation collect an additional ₹700 crore.

AAP’s Ankush Narag, the leader of Opposition in the MCD, said that AAP councillors’ hard work in the MCD paid off. “Finally, BJP Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh was forced to withdraw the user charges imposed on the people of Delhi by the municipal commissioner in collusion with the BJP.”

“We had passed a proposal in the House to make house tax up to 100 square yards tax-free and waive 50% tax for houses up to 500 square yards. The commissioner has not implemented that proposal yet,” he said.