Gurgaon civic body all set to tide over Rs 266 crore property tax deficit

The MCG officials claimed that their property tax collection till date (June 12) has crossed ₹387 crore, the amount they collected in fiscal 2015-16.

At the start of 2017, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) officials discovered that their anticipated boost in property tax collection, owing to demonetisation (residents were allowed to pay property tax bills using the now defunct 500 and 1,000 currency) and launching of online payment modes, was not to be. In fact, they were staring at a 68% dip in tax collection as compared to last year.

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That discovery forced officials to launch multiple rebate schemes, hold property tax camps and provide incentives to residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) to persuade tax payers to remit their dues.

The MCG’s initiatives seem to have worked, and with three days left for the ongoing rebate scheme to expire (on June 15), the MCG officials claimed that their property tax collection has crossed ₹387 crore, the amount they collected in fiscal 2015-16.

Here’s a breakdown on how the civic body raked in the money.

Rebate Scheme

Following a direction by the urban local bodies, MCG offered rebate schemes (taxpayers were given a one-time waiver of 25% on their arrears) from February 1 till March 31. It collected Rs 14 crore in property tax during this time.

The MCG officials extended the rebate scheme again till June 15, with a 15% one-time waiver of arrears. With five days left for the scheme to end, the MCG has collected in excess of Rs 23 crore.

Property tax camps

One of the biggest hurdles for a taxpayer to make payments was that he/she had to visit the MCG offices in Sector 34 and Civil Lines and stand in endless queues. Hence, to do away with this inconvenience, the MCG, in association with RWAs, set up property tax payment camps in residential areas, thereby giving residents the option of clearing their dues at their doorstep.

These camps proved to be a major success and MCG officials claimed that they collected nearly Rs 30 lakh - Rs 35 lakh from each tax camp.

Incentives to RWAs

Last month, the MCG officials announced that it will allot Rs 5 lakh to any RWA for maintenance and development activities if residents living in the area could clear 80% of their property tax dues. The move proved successful as seven RWAs were able to reach the mark by encouraging residents to pay up.

“The recovery in property tax collection has been encouraging and is a testimonial that the various schemes and incentives introduced by the MCG have proved a success. We are anticipating a higher collection by the time the rebate scheme expires,” SS Rohilla, MCG spokesperson,said.