Mumbai civic body collects record Rs5,150 crore property taxes in 1 year

In a first, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has managed to collect nearly Rs5,150 crore in property taxes in just one year, a record high for a single year. However, it fell short of reaching its annual target of Rs5,200 crore. This revenue from property taxes was collected in the financial year 2017-18. The civic body has collected nearly Rs300 crore more property tax compared to last year.

The property tax is collected by the civic body on all kind of properties in the city that include both commercial and residential property owners. Prominent among them are real estate developers, corporate houses, major housing societies and even sports/recreation clubs in the city. The BMC is yet to collect around Rs5,000 crore, which are locked in disputes and court cases.

Officials said that the recent action taken on several properties has helped them collect such a huge amount. Devidas Kshirsagar, assistant municipal commissioner, said, “We have sealed more than 200 properties in the last financial year. Still, we have fallen short of some Rs50 crore to achieve the annual target. We had focused on the recoverable amount since more than 50% of the unpaid taxes are in disputes.” Recently, BMC cracked the whip against various well-known establishments and commercial structures for non-payment of taxes. This includes properties including those of Bombay Dyeing, HDIL and the administrative office of Seven Hills hospital.

Property tax is the second highest revenue source of the civic body after the development charges that are recovered from the real estate sector. Earlier, the octroi duty was highest source of revenue till it was abolished with the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). However, the loss of revenue is compensated by the state government every year.

NMMC earns record Rs1,732-cr taxes in last financial year

The Navi Municipal Mumbai Corporation (NMMC), one of the richest civic bodies in the state, has made a record tax collection in the financial year 2017-18 ending March 31 by earning a revenue of Rs1,732 crore. Municipal commissioner Ramaswamy N said, “Rs105 crore was collected in the last month alone. This is the first time that the tax collection is more than Rs100 crore in March.”

The local body tax department has for the first time surpassed the Rs1,000-crore revenue, earning Rs1,195 crore last year.

-- G Mohiuddin Jeddy