In Mumbai after 31 Dec 2% penalty levied for not paying property tax
After December 31, property owners who don’t pay their property taxes could be subject to a 2% penalty. This will be levied in accordance with Section 202 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act of 1888. As such, a monthly penalty will be levied on the outstanding amount.
The primary source of revenue for the Mumbai Municipal Corporation is property taxes. In 2021–2022 the civic assessor and collector department collected more money than expected, totaling Rs. 5,792 crore as compared to the estimated Rs.5,400 crore.
The civic body has set a target of Rs7,000 crore for 2022-23. It has till now received revenue of Rs2,070 crore.
In May, the BMC issues property tax invoices for a particular financial year. The first 50% of the tax must be paid by August, and the second 50% must be paid by December. Property owners gets three months from the time of receiving the bills to pay the tax. After 90 days, BMC sends reminders and notices to the defaulters. The penalty of 2 per cent is levied in case bills are not paid, said sources in the civic body as per news and media . There is a revision in property tax every five years and this was supposed to be done in 2020. The covid pandemic, however, caused a two-year delay in the revision.
Property tax rates were set to be revised by 18% this year, which may have resulted in an increase in income of Rs. 1,080 crore. However, the state government decided not to increase the property tax this year too.
According to Section 202 of the MMC Act of 1888, the first half-yearly tax amount should be paid within three months of the bill’s service date, and the second half-yearly tax should be paid by December 31 of each year.
