With several warnings going unheeded, the civic body is planning to confiscate materials from defaulting commercial buildings.
Chennai:
In the previous years, the officials were pasting notices, displaying banners, besides beating the tom-tom before the commercial buildings that have huge dues. “This time, we will try to confiscate some materials from the buildings,” a Corporation official said.
Explaining this, another official said: “Earlier we had a set up to confiscate materials from the buildings that defaulted on tax. Even though the [Chennai City Municipal Corporation] Act empowers us to confiscate, we do not have the manpower and arrangement to store the seized material. However, we can issue restraint notice to the defaulting property owners.”
Explaining other measures taken besides these, the official said that the Revenue department of the civic body is collecting building plan approvals from owners of the buildings that are in the long-time default list. “Due to the fear of ramifications, many owners paid taxes immediately after they were asked to submit the plan approval.”
When asked the rationale behind such stringent action being meted out to commercial building owners, the official said that the default run up by such buildings were higher than residential buildings.
Meanwhile, the civic body has collected Rs 667 crore as property tax as on Thursday, compared to Rs 529 crore collected during the same period in the previous financial year. This is an increase of Rs 138 crore.
Expressing confidence in surpassing the property tax collection of Rs 732 crore in the 2017-2018 financial year, the official said that they would cross the benchmark during this week itself.
The civic body has ordered its Revenue staff to work without taking leave in order to achieve the tax target of Rs 1,200 crore.
“Election dates are likely to be announced in a few weeks. Once the dates are announced, we have to participate in the poll process. So, we are trying to collect the maximum before the end of this month,” the official added.
Commercial building owners who are yet to pay the property taxes would face the heat from the Greater Chennai Corporation, as the civic body has now decided to issue restraint notice, which would bar these buildings from being sold or even mortgaged. From shaming the defaulters as was being done in the previous years, the officials are now planning to confiscate materials.
In the previous years, the officials were pasting notices, displaying banners, besides beating the tom-tom before the commercial buildings that have huge dues. “This time, we will try to confiscate some materials from the buildings,” a Corporation official said.
Explaining this, another official said: “Earlier we had a set up to confiscate materials from the buildings that defaulted on tax. Even though the [Chennai City Municipal Corporation] Act empowers us to confiscate, we do not have the manpower and arrangement to store the seized material. However, we can issue restraint notice to the defaulting property owners.”
Explaining other measures taken besides these, the official said that the Revenue department of the civic body is collecting building plan approvals from owners of the buildings that are in the long-time default list. “Due to the fear of ramifications, many owners paid taxes immediately after they were asked to submit the plan approval.”
When asked the rationale behind such stringent action being meted out to commercial building owners, the official said that the default run up by such buildings were higher than residential buildings.
Meanwhile, the civic body has collected Rs 667 crore as property tax as on Thursday, compared to Rs 529 crore collected during the same period in the previous financial year. This is an increase of Rs 138 crore.
Expressing confidence in surpassing the property tax collection of Rs 732 crore in the 2017-2018 financial year, the official said that they would cross the benchmark during this week itself.
The civic body has ordered its Revenue staff to work without taking leave in order to achieve the tax target of Rs 1,200 crore.
“Election dates are likely to be announced in a few weeks. Once the dates are announced, we have to participate in the poll process. So, we are trying to collect the maximum before the end of this month,” the official added.