Mumbai logs in lowest property tax collection in a decade

MUMBAI: For the financial year 2023-24 BMC‘s assessment and collection department has collected Rs 3,195 Crore property tax from the 9 lakh plus properties which fall under the civic body’s jurisdiction.
Apart from missing its collection target set of Rs 4500 crores, the last financial year’s collection has also been the lowest collected till March 31 for any fiscal year in at least the last one decade.Last year property tax collection (2022-23) stood at Rs 5575 crores.
Property tax is currently one of the biggest sources of revenues for the BMC and in the BMC budget 2023-24 the municipal commissioner had announced Rs 6,000 as its collection target only to be revised to Rs 4,500 crores later.
Off the Rs 3195 crores collected in the year 2023-24 till March 31, civic data shows that H East ward recorded the maximum tax collection of Rs. 336 crore, closely followed by K East ward, Rs 317.48 crores and G South ward at Rs 257.11 crores.
One of the prime reasons for the low tax collection till March 31,224 has been the late issuance of property tax bills. The tax bills were first issued in December 26,2023 which the 17.5% increase in the tax rate following an approval given by the state cabinet in January 2023 said officials. But following a hue and cry over the tax increase the Chief minister instructed the municipal commissioner to issue bills without any kind of increase. “New bills therefore were issued only around February 2024. Bills once issued give property owners a 90 day period for payment until when no penalty can also be issued too. Therefore citizens have time till May 2024 for payment,” said an official.
Owing to this the BMC has now also extended the deadline for payment. Another reason for the low property tax collection is election duty which several civic officers from the Assesment department have also been roped in for the Lok Sabha election duty.
Former Bandra Congress Corporator Asif Zakaria who had first flagged off about the increase in tax bills when issued in December 2023 said that it was the indecision on the part of the BMC which has lead to the low tax collection. “The bills which should have been issued by October last year were sent only in December. These bills were also erroneous and again the BMC had to go back to issuing bills without any increase. All this back and forth and caused a revenue loss to the civic body when accounted for till March 31. Now as the bills have been issued late the BMC is also in no position to levy a penalty for non payment,” he said.

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