In poll mode, North Corpn goes easy on tax defaulters

Waives penalty, interest on late payment of property tax

With Assembly elections barely a few months away, municipal corporations have started doling out sops. Unlike in the last financial year, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Monday decided not to charge penalty from property tax defaulters, apart from waiving interest payable by property owners against late payment of tax for the current financial year. 

While the amnesty scheme will benefit lakhs of property owners, it will also result in loss of crores of rupees as revenue for the civic body, which has been complaining wolf over the issue of lack of resources when it came to delivery of services. But it seems everything can take a back seat when the fortunes of political parties are at stake, especially in an election year.

The scheme will come into effect from August 1.

“Under the scheme, all penalty, irrespective of the amount, will be waived off if the property owner pays the due tax amount by November. In case of interest amount for the current fiscal, if the tax payer pays before August 31, then 100 per cent of the interest amount will be waived off,” said North Corporation standing committee chairman Ramkishan Singhal.

“Payment of tax in September will entail waiver of 75 per cent. In October, 50 per cent and in November owners will be liable for 25 per cent waiver. Whoever pays tax after November will have to pay 100 per cent penalty as well as interest,” said Singhal, while passing the resolution of the leader of the House Mahendra Nagpal.

Congress accepts

The resolution was backed by opposition Congress members as well.

Civic agencies enforce penalty against property owners who have not paid house tax for several years.

Now, even people whose case are pending before court will also be able to claim benefits under the scheme of the North Corporation. The corporation charges interest at the rate of one per cent against property owners who pay tax after the mandatory June 30 deadline every fiscal.

Citing crunch of resources, all the three corporations had refused to bring any amnesty scheme in the last financial year, arguing that civic bodies have to become self-dependent in terms of finances as their coffers had taken a hit due to trifurcation of the MCD as well as reduction of grant provided by the state government.

Leaders of the ruling BJP, however, refused to accept that the decision is political in nature. “It’s nothing new. I had brought such amnesty scheme when I was chairman in the unified MCD. Due to the penalty amount and court cases, several people have not been paying tax for several years. Those amount are anyway stuck. The scheme will in fact help in clearing all such pending cases,” said Singhal.

Sources in the South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations said they will also introduce such a scheme soon.