Owners of over two lakh properties, both residential and commercial, may get notice from the Greater Chennai Corporation about the incorrect assessment of property tax.
The civic body has estimated that most number of such properties are in the three zones of Anna Nagar, Teynampet and Kodambakkam.
At least 40,000 properties in these zones have been underassessed. Once these properties are assessed correctly, the Corporation is expected to get an additional revenue of ₹1,500 crore every year. In the last council meeting, the civic body announced that the work of correcting the tax assessment of properties would be completed by March 2023. The city has more than 12 lakh properties, which include residential and commercial buildings. The initiative was taken following an agreement signed by the Corporation with the World Bank and AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) to improve its own source of revenue.
The Corporation’s proposal has created a buzz among residents’ associations about underassessment of buildings in their area. The associations want the work to be done without creating any hostile or offensive environment. Some residents said they were worried about the possible hardship caused to property owners because of the proposal to get the assessment done by a ‘third party’.
Residents worried
S. Kumararaja, vice-president of Annai Indira Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, said a similar initiative in the past had caused hardship to residents. “In 2019, the Corporation told the residents to self assess and file returns for property tax. After the residents filed it, some tax collectors and tax assessors did not accept the self assessment and took measurements of the property and started harassing some senior citizens,” he recalled.
“Officials visited my neighbour’s house to take measurements after the self assessment was filed. The building had no violations and the owner had filed the returns based on correct measurements in the approved plan. But the officials increased the tax by 25%. So, residents in our area are worried this time also,” he said .
“The GCC should follow due procedure for all residents and tax collectors and tax assessors should be visiting every individual house and collect tax directly from the house owner. They should not target a few residents and harass them,” said Mr. Kumararaja.
Velachery West AGS Colony Residents’ Welfare Association secretary Geetha Ganesh said tax should be levied from the date of self assessment if the owners had underassessed their property. “If residents were not aware of the procedure, they should be told and the correct tax amount should be collected without any fine. When we expect all the amenities from the GCC, it is also our responsibility to pay property tax correctly,” she said.
Staff shortage
Residents pointed to the inadequate number of tax collectors and tax assessors in the city and demanded that the Corporation take steps to reduce vacancies in its departments to enhance professional capability. For instance, the 15 zones of the city need at least 500 tax collectors but the civic body has less than 250 tax collectors. The tax collectors need proper training.
Sources in the civic body said one ward should have one tax assessor. But the 200 wards of the Corporation have less than 100 assessors. The number of license inspectors was also less than 100. But the city required at least 200 licence inspectors.
Glitches in GIS during the 2018 survey was another issue which had to be resolved, the officials said expecting more court cases as the civic body proposed to improve its own source of revenue.
