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During the period spanning April 1 to December 31, 2023, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) successfully collected revenue amounting to Rs 638 crore. This figure, however, constitutes a mere 10% of the envisaged property tax for the fiscal year 2023–24. Owing to the legal complexities inherent in the BMC's retrospective tax assessment, the civic body recently initiated the process of distributing bills to taxpayers. Consequently, it has become a challenge for civic officials to achieve the targeted sum of Rs. 6,000 crores within the next three months, ending on March 31.
According to sources within the BMC, the BMC has witnessed a decline in revenue over the last two years. The exemption of property tax for residential properties measuring up to 500 square feet has resulted in a substantial loss amounting to Rs 462 crore. Additionally, the postponement of the revision in tax after the pandemic, extending until 2023, has led to a decrease in revenue of Rs 1,080 crore.
Consequently, the civic body found it necessary to revise the property tax collection target, lowering it from Rs 7,000 crores to Rs 4,800 crores for the fiscal year 2022–23. Despite this adjustment, the assessor and collection department outperformed expectations, surpassing the target by collecting Rs. 5,575 crores by identifying major defaulters and pursuing them to settle their dues, as per civic sources.
A noteworthy development for this financial year is the distribution of property tax bills for the fiscal year 2023–24, following a nine-month gap. These bills were recently unveiled on the BMC's official website, and have encountered objections from taxpayers and former corporators due to a discernible 15-20% increase. In response, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal moved to clarify that there was no actual escalation in property tax for the ongoing fiscal year.
Taxpayers, in turn, are slated to receive two provisional bills within the period from April 1 to September 30, 2023, and from October 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. The provisional bills are intended to match the payment amount due in 2022–23. Taxpayers are responsible for settling the initial bill, covering the period from April 1 to September 30, by January 15. Following that, taxpayers must settle the remaining six-month bill, spanning from October 1 to March 31, 2024, by March 25, 2024. In the previous year, the BMC successfully collected a sum of Rs 3,550 crore between April 1 and December 31, 2022.
The consistent decrease in revenue collections poses a notable concern for the municipal corporation, as property taxes are the second-highest source of its revenue. The Rs 638 crores gathered in the last nine months of the current fiscal year primarily relate to arrears from preceding years. However, a senior civic official expressed optimism about the prospects of achieving the target within the final three months.
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