The BMC has surpassed its Property Tax target and is on track to collect Rs 5,708 crore

In the next two days, the BMC's Property Tax Department is on track to exceed its collecting goal. It has collected Rs 5,108 crore as of Tuesday afternoon, with another Rs 600 crore expected in the next two days. It's a significant achievement for the BMC, which had set a target of Rs 6,000 crore but had to reduce it to Rs 4,800 crore because to the pandemic scenario. 

 

Following the adoption of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the BMC was forced to stop collecting Octroi duty and close all check nakas. Following that, the BMC focused on property tax collection, with the state government only recently agreeing to waive property tax for houses with an area of 500 square feet or less.

 

"For 2021-22, the civic body had decided to collect Rs 6,000 crore, which was later amended to Rs 4800 crore due to Covid-19," said Joint Municipal Commissioner Sunil Dhamane. According to him, the BMC collected Rs 5,135 crore in property tax last year, along with Rs 41 crore in penalties. Last year's overall haul, according to Dhamane, was the largest in a decade. "We might even beat last year's collection this year," he said. According to a BMC officer, the civic authority also sells off the properties of defaulters, but this process normally begins in May or June.