E-Paper
Civic body awaits over Rs 24 crore property tax from state, Centre
There are a total of 413 properties that belong to the state as well as the central government within the limits of the PMC which are liable of paying property tax to the civic body
The Maharashtra state government offices along with the central government establishments, like many others in the city, have been listed as tax defaulters by the Pune municipal corporation (PMC) for not paying a total of over Rs 24 crore property tax in the current fiscal year.
They owe the exchequer - Box (PUNE Metro pg 2; Date: July 25, 2018) - Embed code inline script.
There are a total of 413 properties that belong to the state as well as the central government within the limits of the PMC which are liable of paying property tax to the civic body. However, a total amount of over Rs 24 crore has not been paid by the government bodies yet.
Vilas Kanade, joint municipal commissioner and head of the department of property tax department in the PMC, said, “This particular issue of the state and central governments not paying the property tax is a long-pending one. While taking actions against these governing bodies we have some limitations and restrictions.”
According to Kanade, the entire payment of property tax from these offices entirely depends on the amount of funds that are released from the respective state governments.
He said, “Often we have observed that these government bodies have a huge scarcity of funds. Owing to which, they are not able to pay the property tax on time. Since these are the institutions run by the governments we cannot serve them with notices and take actions.”
However, we maintain a constant communication with these offices and regularly intimate them about their dues, added Kanade.
“We have standing instructions not to send notices and take disciplinary actions against the government establishments for not paying the property tax on time, said another senior official from the property tax department in PMC, requesting anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The official added, “On one hand, property tax department has a huge pressure of generating revenue from the taxes in the PMC budget, while on the other, we are pushed onto limitations like these. Rules should be the same for everyone.”
Having said so, the PMC cannot do anything, but wait for the respective governments to release funds so that its establishments in the city clear the dues of their property tax, added the official.
