Property tax: handheld devices to be used again

Door-to-door collection of property tax through handheld devices is set to resume in the city after a gap of five years.

Property tax collection has been hampered for the past few years as the old devices had become damaged and were out of use. Starting Monday, at least 274 tax collectors, carrying the new version of the equipment, will visit commercial establishments and homes to collect property tax. Residents and traders will be able pay the tax through cheque or demand draft, collect receipts, and get information relating to tax arrears through the devices.

The devices will be linked to the main server of the civic body at Ripon Buildings. Senior officials will also be able to use the devices to monitor the work of tax collectors on a real-time basis. While the old version of the device was designed to accept credit and debit cards, demand drafts and cheques, the new version will not accept credit or debit cards.

During the past few years, tax collectors have been generating manual receipts as a large number of the machines were damaged. Of the 285 handheld devices procured in 2010, more than 90 per cent was reportedly damaged within a short period of time. Some tax collectors allegedly tampered with the machines to avoid the monitoring by senior officials.

According to sources in the Chennai Corporation, property tax collection is expected to improve significantly with the resumption of handheld devices. The collection of property tax per day is around Rs. 2 crore. “We are likely to collect 75 per cent of the tax using the devices,” said an official.

The oldest arrears are adjusted automatically by the machines and assessees who pay arrears to the Corporation through the devices would have to clear the outstanding amounts before paying current dues. The new device will also be used for communication with assessees though a registered mobile number. “The printer in the new device will generate receipts that will last longer,” said an official. The new device will accept partial payment of tax too, he added.