Maharashtra government streamlines vacant land tax collections

The state government has introduced new measures to address irregularities in property registration and to increase revenue through property taxes. Under the new regulations, property owners must provide payment receipts for vacant land tax or property tax to register their assets. For agricultural land, it is also necessary to incorporate the title owner in the adangal copy. These measures are expected to help local bodies collect more taxes, as many vacant landowners were found to be delinquent in paying taxes on time.

Previously, urban, and rural local bodies were unable to collect vacant land tax because they did not have a database of property owners. They requested that the state government transfer details of land sellers and purchasers soon after registration to track them down and collect taxes, but technical issues prevented the government from sharing the data of vacant landowners. To remedy the situation, the state government has introduced stricter regulations, making the submission of payment receipts for vacant land tax mandatory for all open plot registrations.

The state government has also introduced a new property tax system in urban areas that links tax rates with the value of the property. The old method of calculating property tax based on annual rental value (ARV) has been replaced with a capital value (CV) system, which imposes taxes based on the market value fixed by the registration department. This reform has prevented irregularities during the levying of taxes by revenue officials in urban civic bodies, as the property tax is now calculated and generated automatically by the system based on the property data shared by the registration department.

Despite the benefits of the new system, urban civic bodies are still struggling to collect Vacant Land Tax (VLT) from property owners due to the absence of a comprehensive database. The VLT Act requires site owners to pay six half-year VLT while filing an application for a building plan. However, the government has noticed that vacant lands are often sold several times before construction begins, and payment of VLT was not mandatory during these transactions. This has resulted in significant losses of revenue for the government.

To address this issue, the state government has introduced stricter regulations requiring the submission of VLT payment receipts for all open plot registrations. This is expected to help local bodies collect more taxes and prevent losses due to delinquent or non-payment of taxes.

Overall, the new measures introduced by the state government are aimed at streamlining property registration and increasing revenue through property taxes. While there may be some initial challenges in implementing these regulations, they are expected to have long-term benefits for the government, local bodies, and property owners alike. By ensuring that all property owners pay their fair share of taxes, the government can provide better services and infrastructure for the public.

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Maharashtra government streamlines vacant land tax collections

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