City Police Commissioner, RTC Vidyadharpuram Depot Manager, Sri Rama Talkies, Sairam Theatre and A.P. Teachers Federation figure among the top tax defaulters of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC).
The corporation has issued a list of top tax defaulters in all the three municipal circles in the city with tax dues of more than Rs. 24 crore this financial year. Annually, the corporation collects nearly Rs. 80 crore in property tax and till date this year, it has managed to collect Rs. 56 crore.
As part of its measures to improve tax collections, corporation officials seized three houses and disconnected water supply to over 12 houses in circle II on Thursday. Soon after the officials disconnected water supply, six house owners immediately paid the tax and the supply was restored, VMC Commissioner G. Veerapandian claimed.
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“Officials have been issuing notices to the defaulters, yet many were evading tax payments. However, this year we decided to seize properties and disconnect water supply, if the owners fail to pay taxes,” said Mr. Veerapandian.
A.P. Tourism’s Punnami Hotel at Karakatta has dues of nearly Rs.2.6 lakh, RTC Vidyadharpuram Depot Manager is to pay Rs.51,000, Sairam Theatre dues about Rs.43,000, The Commissioner of Police has dues of nearly Rs.4.5 lakh for the K.S.Vyas Traffic Complex, Kasturibaipet and there are many others, who featured in the list.
The Commissioner instructed all the tax evaders to pay the tax by March 31 from the receipt of notices issued by the corporation.
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In addition to disconnecting water supply, officials are also planning to display the details, including names and address of tax evaders at strategic locations in the three municipal circle limits and boards would be put up in the streets in the respective areas of such people, he said.
VMC names top defaulters, disconnects water supply to a few