BMC starts sending bills but those for smaller houses won't be sent immediately as it possibly wants row over move to dissipate
The Shiv Sena had earlier pushed for and secured a waiver for small houses. Representation Pic
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation started the process of sending property tax bills on Tuesday and will finish distribution within a fortnight. However, smaller houses measuring less than 500 sq ft will be sent the bills later, possibly due to the opposition the step has faced and to ease the uncomfortable situation for the ruling party.
There are around 3.75 lakh properties in the city and the printing of the bills is being done on a war footing. "We have set a 15-day deadline for the distribution of all bills. While the distribution of bills to commercial and residential properties measuring more than 500 sq ft will start on Tuesday, we will send bills to smaller houses later," said an officer with the Assessment and Collection department of BMC.
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The ruling party Shiv Sena had earlier pushed for a waiver of the tax for smaller houses. Party leaders are in an awkward position as the decision to waive off the full tax has been taken at the state level but it would not be possible to amend the Property Tax Act in the winter session.
As such, the BMC decided to collect the tax from all. However, the general component of the tax, which amounts to 10-30 per cent, won't be taken from smaller houses, as per a Government Resolution the State had passed in 2019.
Property tax is the second-largest revenue source of the corporation and as per the estimates of the 2020-21 budget, BMC should net Rs 6,768 crore. Generally, the bills are distributed in April. "We have started recovery from old pending bills. Even last year, the corporation delayed sending bills due to ambiguity over taxes for smaller homes and the recovery target could not be met due to the lockdown in March," said the officer.
The other components of property tax are water tax, stormwater drainage tax, BMC education cess, state education cess, employment guarantee cess, tree cess, road tax, etc. An amendment in the Property Tax Act is needed for a full waiver.
Also Read: Mumbai: BMC to take property tax from everyone this year
Proposal for Rs 10-crore waiver for Taj Mahal Palace hotel tabled
Even as it collects money from small houses, and refuses to waive off licence fees from small shopkeepers and vendors, the BMC administration tabled a proposal to waive off around Rs 10 crore charges from Taj Hotel at the Gateway of India. However, it was not taken up for discussion in the BMC House meeting on Wednesday after it faced criticism.
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No. of days within which BMC wants to conclude first phase
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