One farmhouse, two commercial units in Delhi sealed over pending property tax

An MCD official from the assessment and collection department said that the corporation is taking similar action against big tax defaulters by sealing farmhouses and other large propertiesareas

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has sealed one farmhouse in Chhattarpur and two commercial complexes in Jasola, Sarita Vihar, for non-payment of pending property taxes to the tune of ₹7.5 crore a week before the deadline to pay property taxes for 2022-23 ends.

On March 13, MCD sealed three farmhouses in Gadaipur, Jonapur and Deramandi areas along with five commercial properties in this south Delhi region. (Representational Image/HT Archive)

In an official statement, MCD said that in an ongoing drive to crack down on property tax defaulters, the department sealed and attached one farmhouse in south Delhi’s DLF Chhattarpur. “Approximately ₹1.09 crore in tax was outstanding against the property and the taxpayer failed to pay the outstanding tax dues since 2004-05, despite being given ample opportunities by MCD,” the statement added.

An MCD official from the assessment and collection department said that the corporation is taking similar action against big tax defaulters by sealing farmhouses and other large properties in various areas.

To be sure, property tax is one of the main sources of revenue for the financially strained MCD. The civic body’s total property tax collection for 2021-22 was ₹2,032 crore and owners of around 1.15 million properties paid tax during 2021-22. As per the budgetary proposals moved by the municipal commissioner, the civic body plans to collect ₹3,800 crore in property taxes in 2022-23 while the target for 2023-24 is set at ₹4,300 crore.

“In another action, two large commercial properties in a commercial mall and Jasola District Center in Sarita Vihar were sealed on Saturday. These two units owed ₹6.50 crore in outstanding property tax dues. The dues were pending since 2004-05. We will continue the drive in the coming days,” the official added, asking not to be named.

On March 13, MCD sealed three farmhouses in Gadaipur, Jonapur and Deramandi areas along with five commercial properties in this south Delhi region. In the last week of February, the property tax department of the west zone sealed two complexes (in Shivaji Place, Raja Garden and District Centre, Raja Garden) parking areas for defaulting on property tax amounting to approximately ₹9 crore.

The MCD official added that the property tax defaulters are advised to pay their outstanding dues on or before March 31, 2023 to benefit under the Samriddhi Amnesty scheme.

Lieutenant governor VK Saxena in October last year had initiated the property tax amnesty scheme Samriddhi (Strengthening and Augmentation of Municipal Revenue for Infrastructure Development in Delhi) 2022-23 under which tax arrears for properties in authorised and regularised areas are waived off if a taxpayer clears his/her pending dues for six years for residential units and seven years for non-residential units. Under this scheme, owners of residential properties will have to pay tax for 1+5 years (ongoing year and last five years) while owners of commercial properties will have to pay for 1+6 years (current year + last 6 years). After this payment, the taxpayer will not be liable to pay for any further previous dues. A second municipal official said that the corporation has collected more than ₹100 crore under the amnesty scheme so far while the overall collection till February 28, 2023 was ₹1,671 crore .