MCD sets Dec 31 deadline for properties to get UPIC

The property tax department has said that it will initiate prosecutions in the courts against owners of properties which are not registered with the civic body

The assessment and collection department of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has set December 31 as the deadline for all non-registered properties to initiate the process of registration by generating the Unique Properties Identification Code (UPIC).

UPIC is a 15-digit alphanumeric code, which is mandatory to pay property tax. It can be generated on MCD’s portal, mcdonline.nic.in/portal (HT Photo)

In a public notice issued on Sunday, the property tax department has said that it will initiate prosecutions in the courts against owners of properties which are not registered with the civic body. Delhi is estimated to have more than 3.5 million buildings but only 1.5 million are registered with the corporation. Only 1.3 million of the registered owners pay property tax, according to MCD officials.

The 15-digit alphanumeric code, which is mandatory to pay property tax, can be generated on MCD’s portal, mcdonline.nic.in/portal.

MCD has also made public the list of registered properties which can be searched using UPIC and addresses.

“All properties--land and building- situated in authorised, unauthorised regularised colonies and all non-residential properties (of any size) and residential properties having covered area more than 100 sq m in rural villages, if not registered with the A&C department of MCD or not having UPIC number or not paying tax, their owners and occupiers are advised to create UPIC immediately and register their properties....and discharge their liabilities since inception failing which strict action for recovery of dues and penalty including prosecution under section 152A read with 467 of DMC act will be initiated in court of law,” the notice issued by assessor and collector Kunal Kashyap states.

Owners are required to fill details of the property, including the address, ownership status, ward etc, following which a UPIC number will be generated, the official added.

The MCD notice also states that the department has decided to lodge prosecutions in courts in all cases of property tax evasions amounting more than ₹25 lakh. “It may result in punishment of imprisonment from 3 months up to 7 years with fine not less than 50% of the amount of tax evaded,” the notice adds.

The department has said that the according to Sections 123A and 123B of DMC Act, the onus of the self-assessment property tax return and to pay the correct tax amount lies with the owner of the property.

Atul Goyal, who heads RWA umbrella body URJA (United RWAs Joint Action), said that while the move to digitise the property tax database is welcome, the onus of its implementation should be on the municipality. “They have used public money for surveys and generation of UPIC but the database remains incomplete and faulty after so many years. Even I was unable to find my property details in the database. We can only apply but ultimately responsibility of generating UPICs or mutation should be on MCD,” he added.

In July this year, MCD had witnessed a massive spike in property tax deposits with a collection of ₹1,113 crore in the first quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal — a jump of more than ₹400 crore over the corresponding period last year. Property tax collection remains one of the biggest sources of revenue for the cash-strapped civic body.

Under the budget projections for 2023-24, MCD plans to earn ₹15,523.9 crore out of which ₹4,300 crore is expected to be collected in property tax alone. The total property tax collection for 2021-22 by MCD was ₹2,032 crore and data from MCD shows that around 1.2 million property owners paid tax during 2021-22 out of which 98% of the tax had been deposited online.