Property Tax: Panchkula MC to send notices to defaulters

The officials stated that the Shalimar Mall owners had not once paid property tax. Mayor Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia said, “Three notices are sent, following which legal course of action is pursued. We have served several notices to Shalimar, but no payment was made, and now I have written to the Municipal Commissioner to consider the legal option of sealing the mall, and recovering the amount.”

[related-post]

The decision to levy property tax in Panchkula was taken in 2010, when the corporation announced that it would calculate the property tax on the basis of existing collector rates in the city. However, the decision was later revised, and it was announced that the tax would be charged as per the plot size, which significantly brought down the tax value to a large extent.

As per the current rates, the property tax is levied on the basis of plot size (in square yards). In residential plots, the property tax is 75 paise per square yard for a plot of upto 300 square yard, Rs 3 for upto 501 square yard, Rs 4.50/sq yard for 500-1,000 square yard and Rs 7.50/ sq yard for plot size above 2 acres. However, for shops, it is Rs 18/sq yard for plot size upto 50 square yard and at Rs 50/sq yard for plot size above 500 sq yards.

Residents maintain that since the property tax on residential property is minimal, more people come forward to pay the tax. “The annual property tax on residential plots is quite less. Moreover, the process of submitting the property tax is simple here, as the corporation has authorised select banks where residents can easily go and deposit the tax. But even if there are defaulters, it probably indicates the lack of will or less manpower with the corporation to make the collection,” said Subhash Papneja, a resident of Sector 16.

When contacted, Jagdeep Thanda, who recently took charge as the Municipal Commissioner, said, “The issue of property tax is on my priority list, and I will examine the whole process, and check if there are any lacunae.” The corporation had earlier fixed July 31 as the last date for depositing the property tax, which has now been extended to August 31.