Bengaluru North City Corporation launches tax drive to recover Rs 694 crore in pending property dues

BENGALURU: Bengaluru North City Corporation Commissioner Pommala Sunil Kumar said that the civic body is organising a Tax Drive this month to collect pending property tax dues from defaulters and to identify properties that have under-declared their built-up area. Notices are being issued to such property owners to ensure recovery of the pending taxes. The North City Corporations has a total of 4,57,951 properties (Residential - 3,36,989, Non-residential - 15,949, Mixed-use (residential and non-residential) - 23,214 and vacant sites - 81,799) registered under the Corporations limits. All of these properties fall under the tax net. For the current financial year, the Corporation has set a target of Rs 1,242 crore in property tax collection. So far, Rs 548 crore has been collected, while Rs 694 crore remains outstanding, he said. Kumar said notices are being issued to major defaulters, and steps are being taken to recover the pending tax amounts at the earliest. Measures have been initiated to identify properties that are currently outside the tax network and bring them under assessment. For this purpose, special recovery teams comprising staff from the Revenue Department have been formed. These teams have begun property tax recovery operations at the zonal level, he said and added, a total of 1,697 properties require revision of assessment, and 78,565 properties have pending tax arrears. Notices have already been issued to several non-residential property owners who have not paid taxes for many years. The Commissioner warned that strict action will be taken against persistent defaulters, including sealing of properties if necessary. Meanwhile, he instructed officials to complete the stormwater drain work at Kanteerava Stadium at the earliest. He said that waterlogging occurs in and around Kanteerava Stadium during the rainy season. To prevent this, work is underway to raise the height of the stormwater drain retaining wall. Due to the ongoing drain work, athletes and children using the stadium are facing inconvenience.