Property tax target revised, Patiala MC collects more than half

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 1

After several reductions in the property tax collection target, the local Municipal Corporation has managed to reach more than half the revised full-year target. By September 30, the MC has collected Rs 10.80 crore as property tax against its yearly target of Rs 18 crore, which is supposed to be achieved by March 2022.

The property tax collection target was reduced from Rs 23 crore to Rs 18 crore during the corporation’s special budget meeting held in March this year.

The corporation had collected around Rs 14 crore in the financial year 2020-21, against an estimated collection target of Rs 23 crore. Thereafter, the target amount was reduced to Rs 18 crore. Earlier, in the 2019-20 financial year, it managed to collect Rs 17 crore against its target collection of Rs 28 crore. The target collection for the subsequent financial year 2020-21 was reduced to Rs 23 crore.

Officials said the tax collection had breached the 50 per cent collection amount by September end. “This was despite the fact that Covid-19 had had an effect on the market and subsequently the tax collection”, they said.

“Last year also the MC had revised down its property tax estimate collection target due to Covid-19,” Raminder Singh, superintendent at the property tax department of the MC, said.

The MC said the residents would be able to avail a rebate of 10 per cent on their previous years’ outstanding property tax amount. An official of the MC said the last date to deposit property tax with a 10 per cent rebate for the financial year 2021-22 was September 30. The 10 per cent rebate on previous years’ outstanding property tax amount can also be availed only by November end, the MC said.

Officials informed the department had managed to collect over Rs 1 crore as property tax from various government establishments. “Some amount has been collected, while the collection of the remaining amount is pending.”

MC Joint Commissioner Avikesh Gupta was unavailable for comments.