AHMEDABAD: To tackle chronic tax defaulters in housing societies, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has devised a novel approach —drumming up compliance, quite literally. During a revenue committee meeting on Wednesday, it was decided that AMC teams will play drums outside the homes of defaulters to shame them into clearing their property tax dues.
The decision was taken after many tax defaulters failed to pay up despite repeated notices. The corporation also issued notices, threatening to disconnect water and sewer connections, but to no avail.
To recover outstanding taxes, the AMC has also proposed auctioning properties owned by commercial defaulters. The action comes amid a sharp shortfall in tax recovery.
Data revealed that in the financial year 2023-24, AMC collected Rs 1,679.98 crore in property tax. However, by Dec 3, the amount had dropped to Rs 1,184.92 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The overall tax income from all sources in 2024-25 stood at Rs 1524.20 crore, just 70.8% of the previous year’s Rs 2,152.82 crore, according to data from AMC’s revenue committee. In the current financial year, the total income was Rs 171.47 crore from professional tax and Rs 153.74 crore from vehicle tax.
With recovery rates from property and other taxes from all zones falling to 58.19%, the AMC plans to step up enforcement. Measures include sealing properties, disconnecting water and sewer services, and public auctions.
