BDA offers 5% rebate on property tax but keeps payment website shut

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is offering a 5 per cent rebate on property tax for those who pay before April 30.

The agency, however, seems to have bungled the deal by keeping its property tax website shut even a week into the new financial year.

Property owners looking to avail themselves of the discount were disappointed.

“BDA officials from IT, revenue and other departments should work in coordination with each other. Announcing a rebate without opening the website is as good as not providing a rebate,” a site owner from the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout said.

A BDA official said that the portal would be ready in the next four days. “Our online system only accepts property tax payments and is not automated to calculate the value. We still have to upload the property tax values manually, which is time-consuming and hence the delay. The portal should be ready in the next three to four days,” an official from the BDA’s finance department said.

Besides the rebate, the BDA has also introduced a 10 per cent annual interest on those who pay the tax after June 30.

“There is some problem every year and the portal opens late every time. Many times, the BDA has opened the portal nearly a month after the start of the financial year. It should make sure that it provides an additional grace period for tax payment without penalty considering that their portal was opened late,” another taxpayer said.

Watch the latest DH Videos here: