KOLHAPUR: The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to offer 30% to 50% waiver on fines imposed on property tax defaulters for the current and previous years.
Civic chief K Manjulekshmi took this decision on Sunday. “Defaulters clearing their dues before Feb 15 will get a 50% waiver on the fine amount. The waiver will reduce to 30% if the dues are cleared between Feb 16 and March 15. The financial year ends on March 31,” he said.
A 2% fine per month on the total tax amount due was imposed by the civic body on the defaulters. The defaulters owe around Rs 100 crore to the civic body. Civic chiefs of the municipal corporations have the authority to offer a waiver on the fine amount if they think it is rational to do so in the interest of the civic body.
Property tax superintendent Sudhakar Challawad, while speaking to TOI, said, “So far, we have collected Rs 48 crore towards property tax. Out of the 1.6 lakh property owners in the city, around 89,000 have paid their tax while the rest have not. Through the waiver we want to encourage the defaulters to clear their dues.”
Property tax is a major source of revenue for the KMC. For the current financial year 2023-24, the civic body has set a property tax collection target of Rs 108 crore. Challawad said that during the same time last year the property tax collection figure was similar. “The waiver scheme was also launched then and thereafter the collection figure went up to Rs 79 crore,” the official said.
“Most of the defaulters are residential property owners. They default mainly because of the dispute over ownership of the ancestral property. If the amount is hefty, the owners tend to avoid paying the tax. Some of the owners buy a flat or build a house for the sake of investment. They also do not pay the taxes regularly,” Challawad said.
“In last 15 days of the financial year we will start sealing the properties of the defaulters. The dues will also reflect on property documents so that the owner cannot sell their property or get a loan without clearing their dues,” the official added.
