Gurgaon: Rebate scheme pushes MCG property tax collection to Rs123 crore
DLF Universal Ltd became the highest taxpayer by remitting an amount of Rs 6.51 crore, followed by MGF Development Limited which paid Rs 1.38 crore and Haryana Development Authority that has paid Rs 1.03 crore.
The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has collected Rs 123 crore in property tax after introducing in February a one-time rebate of 25% on payment of arrears from 2010 till 2016 .
According to the data available with the municipal corporation, after the rebate scheme was announced, DLF Universal Ltd became the highest taxpayer by remitting an amount of Rs 6.51 crore, followed by MGF Development Limited which paid Rs 1.38 crore and Haryana Development Authority that has paid Rs 1.03 crore.
The high recovery is crucial as the MCG had introduced the rebate scheme to reduce the 68% deficit in property tax collection prior to the ending of the financial year. The civic body had collected only Rs 121 crore as property tax in 2016 against Rs 387 crore collected in 2015.
Taxpayers can avail of the rebate scheme and make payments till March 31.
Since introducing the scheme, the MCG’s citizen facilitation centres (CFC) in Civil Lines and Sector 34, which accept property tax payments, are seeing a rush, forcing MCG officials to set up more counters and depute more officials.
Aside from the rebate scheme, the MCG also introduced several measures this year to boost its revenue collection.
It resend notices to mall owners on Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road whose property tax dues are pending since the last eight years. The civic body has also organised property tax camps regularly across the city, sent attachment notices to 604 entities and sealed the properties of those failing to clear their dues.
The MCG officials have also been doing on-the-spot property tax collection and have partnered with a private bank for easy payment.
MCG Commissioner V Umashankar gave an impetus to the collection by announcing last month that those colonies or sectors, which have no property tax dues, will get an additional sum of Rs 25 lakh for development projects from the MCG.
“The property tax collection through the rebate scheme has been encouraging and we are anticipating that by March 31, the deficit will reduce further and the total collection will be similar to what it was in 2015-16. The tax is an important source of revenue for the MCG as the sum is utilised for accelerating developmental projects and enhancing civic amenities,” SS Rohilla, MCG spokesperson, said.