Property tax dues: Notices to Shrungar Complex

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has issued show-cause notices to the city’s iconic Shrungar Complex on MG Road over pending property tax.

Basavaraju, assistant revenue officer (ARO) of Shanthinagar sub-division from BBMP East Zone, on Thursday, pasted six notices on the entrance gates of the shopping complex, which is closed for almost two years.

DNL enterprises, a private firm that had entered into a lease contract with the landowners and rented out the property, has to pay a total of Rs 5.7 lakh in property tax to the civic body.

The notices sought an explanation from the firm as to why the properties on the premises of the complex should not be seized to make up for the pending amount.

The Palike claimed that the notices were put on the gates as it didn’t have the firm’s address.

Basavaraju said, “As the whereabouts of the party are not known, we have put the notices on their entrance gate.”

“The firm has failed to pay property tax for the past several years. There is a dispute going on in a court between the traders and the owner. But they cannot get away without paying property tax,” he said.

He added that the manager of the property owner said they would reply in 15 days. “We will send their reply to the commissioner for his decision,” he said.

The iconic shopping complex, that operated for 50 years, housed about 64 shops. It was closed in January 2018 after a 17-year-long legal battle between the tenants and the owner.