The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will stop granting a uniform waiver to property tax defaulters from April and the amount to be waived will depend on the duration of the default.
Starting April 1, a smaller percentage of the accrued penalty and interest will be waived for those who want to clear their property tax dues after defaulting for a longer period. Those who have been defaulting over a shorter period will be entitled to a heftier waiver.
The new system was announced in the civic budget that was tabled by mayor Firhad Hakim on Saturday.
“In order to deter habitual defaulters and to encourage assessees who make timely payment, we are introducing a graded system in which assessees who have defaulted in payment for a longer time will get, subject to approval, waiver at a reduced rate,” the mayor’s budget speech says.
Assessees are property owners in whose names property tax bills are generated.
The system prevalent now allows waiver of up to 99 per cent of the penalty and 50 per cent of the interest on the outstanding tax, irrespective of the number of years for which the tax has remained unpaid.
“Someone who has not paid for two years and someone who has not paid for 10 years receive the same benefit now if they come forward to clear their dues,” said a KMC official.
Under the new system, to take effect on April 1, 35 per cent of the accrued interest and 25 per cent of the penalty will be waived for those who want to pay their property tax dues after defaulting for 10 years or more.
If the tax remains unpaid for more than five years but less than 10 years, 40 per cent of the interest and 50 per cent of the penalty will be waived.
The defaulters for two to five years will be entitled to a waiver of 45 per cent of the interest and 75 per cent of the penalty and those who have not paid their tax for less than two years will be granted a waiver of 50 per cent of the interest and 99 per cent of the penalty if they want to clear the books.
All applications under the new system will be forwarded to the mayor, who will decide whether to allow the exemption or not. In the existing system, too, the waiver depends on the mayor’s discretion.
“Those who want to avail themselves of the benefits of the old system should apply immediately and clear the outstanding amount by March 31,” said a KMC official.
Hakim’s budget speech mentioned that the civic body had collected Rs 1,068 crore as property tax from April 1, 2023, to January 27, 2024, which was 10 per cent more than the collection during the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
While speaking on the budget on Monday, CPM councillor Nandita Roy said the budget document should have also mentioned the percentage of the people who have not paid property tax.
“What percentage of property owners have not paid their tax and how many properties are still unassessed — these details should have been there in the budget document,” she said.