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The BBMP has implemented a series of enforcement measures to recover unpaid taxes from delinquent property owners. Despite repeated notices, many owners ignore their obligations, leading authorities to issue Form 13 to register BBMP's claims with the Deputy Registrar's office, thereby creating liens on their properties. To increase transparency and pressure defaulters, BBMP has also publicly released a list of the top defaulters, although past efforts have seen limited success. Despite the introduction of a one-time settlement scheme (OTS), which provides a 5% discount for prompt payments to resolve outstanding dues, compliance rates persist at disappointingly low levels.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) faces considerable issues in collecting property taxes from some of the city's most prestigious organisations, including hotels, developers, educational institutions, charity trusts, and shopping malls. As on May 18, approximately 3.63 lakh homes owed a whopping INR 711.1 crore in taxes. Bommanahalli leads the list with 57,043 houses owing INR 95 crore, followed by Rajarajeshwari Nagar, which has 55,073 homes owing INR 54.31 crore. Additionally, 1,66,557 property owners must settle an overdue balance of INR 231.77 crore. Advertisement
Munish Moudgil, the special commissioner of BBMP (revenue), explained that they send daily SMS messages and make IVR-based calls to these defaulters and revision cases. Despite their efforts, the defaulters do not pay their tax arrears. He added that they will soon initiate special enforcement for recovery as per the law. The BBMP's struggle with defaulters is not a new issue. Previous attempts to publicise lists of non-payers have seen limited success, as many continue to evade their tax responsibilities. Property tax serves as a crucial revenue source for the BBMP, with some properties accruing arrears over decades, creating a persistent challenge for the revenue department.
The BBMP depends heavily on property tax collections to fund essential civic services, infrastructure projects, and urban development initiatives. However, the reluctance of high-profile defaulters to settle their dues significantly undermines these efforts. Despite BBMP officials' various enforcement measures-including issuing notices, sealing properties, confiscating inheritances and immovable property, and seizing bank accounts-many property owners remain indifferent to their tax obligations, consistently ignoring multiple notices over the years. The bureaucratic process associated with these enforcement actions often proves slow and cumbersome, which further complicates the BBMP's efforts to recover dues.
Expressing frustration, Munish Moudgil highlighted that defaulters often secure stays from the courts upon receiving notices, thereby restricting their actions. He raised doubts about the effectiveness of a revenue cell hampered by these stays. Consequently, authorities have implemented the OTS, a one-time settlement scheme, with the hope that many defaulters will choose to settle their outstanding dues. Moudgil noted that despite the scheme's offer of a 5% discount for payments made within an extended period, compliance remains disappointingly low. Many property owners are unwilling to settle their dues, even with this incentive. The BBMP has issued repeated notices to delinquent property owners with unpaid taxes.
The authorities have responded to those who persist in ignoring these notices by issuing Form 13, which initiates the process of recording BBMP's claim in the records maintained by the Deputy Registrar's office. This legal step aims to establish a lien on the property, thereby making it challenging for owners to sell or transfer their properties without settling the outstanding taxes. Moudgil concluded by stating that the BBMP has publicly released the list of top defaulters to enhance transparency and accountability. The aim is to pressure defaulters into paying their dues by publicly identifying them. However, this approach has shown limited success in the past, and its effectiveness this time around remains uncertain.
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