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PMC goes aggressive on property tax collection, seals IT firm
We have started the drive to recover maximum property tax dues. The PMC has been successful in recovering more than ₹200 crore dues in the last few weeks, says official
The property tax department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has gone aggressive in terms of recovering dues, sealing an IT firm on Friday while also taking action against a car showroom on Monday.
Property tax department head Vilas Kanade said, “We have started the drive to recover maximum property tax dues. On Friday, we sealed an IT company from the Erandwane area for not paying tax. We even took action against a prominent car showroom on Monday. The PMC has been successful in recovering more than ₹200 crore dues in the last few weeks.”
Pune has many major IT firms along with startups which are operating from small premises or flats. Kanade said, “IT companies have rebate in property tax and get reduced tax bills as compared to other commercial properties. Despite having concession, some IT companies are not paying taxes in time. We took action against many small and big IT companies in the last two months. Before taking action, we have issued notices to them. After receiving notices, some IT companies have immediately paid tax. But some have failed to do it.”
The PMC has so far collected record property tax crossing ₹1,700 crore in March. In the initial nine months of this financial year, the civic administration mopped up the highest ever revenue in property tax in six decades of its imposition — with the corporation adding over ₹1,300 crore to its coffers till December 31. The revenue boost is being attributed to the availability of online payment and the introduction of the amnesty scheme for tax defaulters.
Kanade said, “We have got record property tax which already crossed ₹1,700 crore this year. After January, the PMC focused on recovering maximum dues and we were able to get more than ₹200 crore dues. Last week when PMC officials went for the action, one of the builders paid dues of more than ₹1 crore.”
Whereas in the fiscal 2019-20, the PMC collected close to ₹1,100 crore in property tax dues as per civic officials. Kanade said, “There are some issues with some corporates. Though their financial condition is good, their headquarters are based at other locations. They need to get approvals. Due to this process, they are not able to pay tax on time.”
The Pune civic body introduced tax collection from property holders in 1952. The amnesty scheme, offering an 80% waiver on the penalty amount in the first phase, was introduced in 2020 to encourage defaulters to settle property tax dues.
