GHAZIABAD: The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) has resumed its campaign to recover property tax from defaulters in a bid to boost its revenue.
According to the corporation, it had 2,900 property tax defaulters across its five zones in the 2023-24 fiscal, which ended on March 31 this year. Since then, GMC has recovered 60% of the total amount — Rs 28.9 crore of Rs 48 crore — from 1,562 defaulters. The remaining 1,338 defaulters haven’t paid tax dues of Rs 19.1 crore, according to GMC data.
GMC has now resumed the drive to collect dues from defaulters, which had been put on hold due to the Lok Sabha elections. The corporation is serving notices to the property owners concerned with a warning that if they fail to pay the tax, GMC will stop providing civic amenities to them.
“For 2023-24, a target of generating over Rs 313 crore revenue from property tax was set, but we could earn only Rs 294.9 crore by the end of the financial year. Zone-wise data revealed that 2,900 defaulters, including big hotels and industrial units, had not paid property tax,” said Sanjeev Sinha, the GMC chief tax assessment officer.
“This was causing losses to the state exchequer, so we launched a drive to recover tax from the defaulters. Till now, we have recovered Rs 28.9 crore from 1,562 defaulters. Efforts are underway to recover tax from the remaining defaulters,” Sinha added.
The Ghaziabad City zone has the maximum tax defaulters at 690 (24%), while only 286 of them have paid the tax till now. Vasundhara has 660 tax defaulters, out of which taxes have been recovered from 546. Mohan Nagar zone, on the other hand, has 678 defaulters, and GMC has managed to collect taxes from only 197 defaulters. In Kavi Nagar and Vijaynagar zones, GMC has recovered taxes from more than 50% of the total defaulters.
GMC simplified tax collection by making it completely digital last Aug. Now, property, sewer and water charges can be paid online via credit and debit cards, UPI, and RTGS.
“Despite GMC simplifying tax collection methods, we still have a sizable number of defaulters. The corporation is determined to recover dues from defaulters,” said Sinha.
The corporation calculates tax based on the annual rental value (ARV) of the property.
“GMC provides roads, electricity, water pipelines, and other amenities in the vicinity of the property. Based on the level of service provided, we charge between 33.5% and 75% of the ARV,” the official added.
