BBMP halts tax payments for three days amid calculation changes

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has suspended property tax payments for three days as it makes last-minute changes to the method of calculating tax.

On Tuesday, the first day of the new financial year, the civic body’s tax portal displayed a message, stating that the payment system will be live only at 5 pm on Thursday.

With the BBMP's decision to add a new garbage cess to the existing solid waste management (SWM) levy, citizens are particularly interested to see the full scope of the property tax hike.

“Due to the closure of the financial year (2024-25) and the start of the new financial year (2025-26), the property tax online payment system will be live from April 3, 5 pm,” read the message posted on the BBMP’s official website.

The temporary suspension could be for two reasons.

First, the BBMP plans to add a user fee for garbage collection to the tax, forcing a revision in calculation as it should consider total built-up area of independent houses and shops. The fee, which has six slabs, ranges from Rs 10 to Rs 400 per month, depending on the building size.

Kengeri resident Shobha Bhat asked why the BBMP is imposing garbage tax on independent houses. “I have been composting wet waste on my premises, while the dry waste is reused. We do not use the BBMP services at all. There are many people like us. We do not expect any incentives, but the BBMP should at least not tax us,” she said.

Apartments producing over 100 kg of daily waste will face a separate collection fee, outside of property tax. This fee, levied at Rs 12 per kg, will be collected by marshals if residents opt for the BBMP-managed waste disposal rather than utilising empanelled private agencies.

Second, property taxes may vary due to the new parking tax component.

From this financial year, the BBMP will modify tax calculations for stilt and covered parking that were part of the property tax earlier. Officials said this would reduce parking fees for apartments and independent houses with declared parking areas, pointing out that the annual fee will be Rs 600 for residential properties and Rs 1,125 for commercial and non-residential properties.

They said the BBMP would lose Rs 50 crore in revenue annually due to the change. Some citizens argued that the civic body should not be charging them for providing parking within their premises as they follow the rules. Instead, they suggested that the BBMP should fine those parking private vehicles outside their homes.