Mumbai : With relentless efforts for the past one month, the civic officials collected Rs. 3,195 crores of property tax till March 31 (by 12 am). The BMC’s assessment and collection department could recover Rs. 836 crores in the last four days by focusing on the big defaulters. The highest collection of Rs. 336 crores was recorded in H East ward (Santacruz, Khar and Bandra East). However, the property tax also reflects a deficit of Rs.1,300 crores in fiscal 2023-24. The BMC had collected Rs.4,492 crores of property tax in 2022-23.
BMC’s Property Tax Collection Challenges And Strategies For Recovery
The BMC has seen a decline in property tax collection due to exemption for residential properties up to 500 sq.ft. and no hike in tax in the past five years. In addition to this, the legal complexities of new methods of tax calculation badly affected the revenue collection in 2023-24. So, the initial target of property tax was revised from Rs. 6,000 crores to Rs.4,500 crores and the bills were sent on February 27 this year. The BMC’s strategy to trace the big defaulters owing a larger sum of pending property taxes worked for them. “Nearly Rs. 2,500 crores were collected in the past one month,” said civic sources.
Property Tax Collections Across Mumbai Wards
The highest collection, Rs. 336.45 crores of the property tax, was collected from H East ward (Santacruz, Khar and Bandra East), followed by K East – (Jogeshwari, Andheri East) – Rs. 317.48 crores, G South – Worli- Rs. 257.11 crores. The lowest collection of property tax was recorded in the Island city at Rs. 678.42 crores, while Rs. 917.05 crores in the eastern and Rs. 1,590.09 crores in the western suburbs. Considering the delay in sending the bills, the taxpayers will not be charged 2% interest per month till May 25. However, the revenue collected through property tax after April 1, will be added in the current financial year 2024-25, said the civic official.
