Pvt agency to start property tax survey in Delhi by Nov: MCD

The agents from the private agency will undertake physical surveys, geo-tag properties and serve tax notices with computerised collection of self-assessment data

New Delhi

A common property database will be developed based on information collected by the agency, covering commercial and residential properties, office spaces and vacant land. (Representative photo)

Officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said that the process of hiring a private agency to survey properties and serve tax notice has moved to an advanced stage, and an agency is likely to be deployed by November.

The agents from the private agency will undertake physical surveys, geo-tag properties and serve tax notices with computerised collection of self-assessment data across the national capital as part of “strengthening the property tax collection.”

“Once the financial bids are cleared, the selected agency will be allotted the task. The agency will have one year to submit its report after conducting physical surveys, geo-tagging properties, serving tax notices and compiling self-assessment data through a computerised system across the city. As an incentive, it will receive a share of the recoveries,” a senior MCD official with the property tax department said.

A common property database will be developed based on information collected by the agency, covering commercial and residential properties, office spaces and vacant land.

Property tax collection serves as one of the key revenue streams for the cash-starved MCD. However, the low levels of tax compliance in the city remains a key hurdle.

Covering 1,366 square-kilometre area, the MCD is the largest urban local body in the country and the city had 3.436 million households according to the 2011 Census. Currently, only 1.3 million property owners and occupiers pay tax to the municipality. Last year, the property tax department collected around ₹2,163 crore in property tax, against a target of ₹4,000 crore.

The private agency will be responsible for training agents working on ground to use gadgets for geo-tagging and data entry of properties. “To prevent any fraud or harassment, the agents will mandatorily carry ID cards and undergo behavioural training. During field visits they will conduct door-to-door surveys and record property details through an app. Based on this, the MCD circle in-charge will generate tax demand notices after verifying the details with data available,” the official said.

The agency will serve these notices and in case of non-payment, MCD will begin recovery proceedings. If property owners refuse to cooperate, survey teams will flag them with time and location tags for “non-cooperation by occupier”, after which MCD’s circle in-charges will decide further action. For locked properties, visits may be scheduled on weekends or holidays and meantime notices will be pasted. The circle in-charge will be responsible for overall monitoring of action by the agency.

“Payments to the agency will be linked to recoveries and made through an escrow account. The full agreed percentage will apply only to current year’s collections, while arrears from previous years will be paid at 50% of the agreed rate,” the MCD project report states.

The erstwhile north and south corporations had attempted to widen the taxpayer base by hiring an agency for door-to-door inspections. The move however, met with resistance from residents while the deliberative wing opposed serving notices and collecting records in unauthorised colonies where MCD does not provide services.

The official said, “The agency will cover planned, unplanned, village abadi areas in Delhi. Payment will be made to the agency only when the amount is recovered from taxpayers.”