GHMC re-assessing properties with tax over ₹3 lakh

Survey across the circles yields 2,199 properties matching the criterion

GHMC has taken up re-assessment of buildings paying more than ₹3 lakh by way of property tax, with the express aim of adding bulk to its revenues.

Instructions given

A drive towards this end has been launched in the second week of this month, and instructions have been issued to the deputy commissioners accordingly. The drive will continue till October 31, officials informed.

Living a hand-to-mouth existence for the past three to four years and saddled with road projects worth hundreds of crores of rupees, GHMC has been exploring various options to augment its financial resources for some time.

As part of this, the corporation had initially done a survey to identify properties assessed to less than ₹1,200 property tax per annum, which were being charged only ₹101 per head following the State government’s promise before GHMC elections in 2016.

Of the 5.43 lakh properties which were given this sop before elections, close to five lakh have been brought back into the regular tax net after the survey, as they fell out of the ₹1,200 bracket after re-verification.

Losing ₹84 crore after implementation of government’s undertaking, the corporation has recovered ₹54 crore, after the drive.

During this financial year, another drive was announced to identify buildings for which property tax ranged between ₹1,200 and ₹1 lakh.

The aim was to re-assess the properties for unauthorised commercial use, and revise the tax for the same.

During the drive by the GHMC, which is 70% complete now, over 17,000 properties were found to be either under assessed or unassessed.

Revision of tax for the same yielded the corporation an additional revenue of ₹26 crore. A month ago, another drive was taken up in similar lines to re-verify the use of commercial properties for which property tax of over ₹5 lakh per annum was being paid.

A total of 621 properties matching the criterion have been identified, and verification has been done with respect to 423 of them, garnering the corporation ₹25 crore additional revenue.

The latest drive, to re-assess the properties paying more than ₹3 lakh per annum, was preceded with a survey across the circles, which yielded close to 2,199 properties matching the criterion, officials informed.

At 699, Khairatabad zone houses a majority of them, followed by L.B. Nagar at 423. The lowest number was 88 in Charminar Zone.

In all likelihood, another drive for verification of properties with tax payment ranging between ₹1 lakh and ₹3 lakh could be taken up in November, officials said.