Over 4,000 property owners contest BBMP tax notices

Bengaluru: As many as 4,068 property owners have challenged show cause notices issued by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for allegedly under-declaring property tax.

Although they account for only 13% of the 31,000 notices served between late July and early August, the number is significant as the BBMP had only recently fixed glitches on its tax website, which earlier offered no option for written objections.

Most notices targeted flat owners after the civic body found mismatches between the property size in sale deeds and that declared in annual tax receipts. The data was verified using documents submitted for e-khata registration.

According to BBMP data, Bommanahalli, Mahadevapura and East zones recorded over 700 objections each, while South, Yelahanka and RR Nagar saw around 400 each.

All objections were filed on the BBMP’s newly developed e-Nyaya web portal, a faceless system created to dispose of cases without inconveniencing the public.

The notices triggered backlash as owners were asked to pay the differential tax for five years, along with the solid waste management cess, penalties, and bank interest. Owners alleged clerical errors in calculations, including separate charges for parking lots already counted in the super built-up area.

"About 4,000 properties have filed appeals. Now, assistant revenue officers will consider them and give owners an opportunity to be heard. Based on appeal decisions, or a second appeal, citizens will be liable to pay the finalised demand,” said Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner (Revenue), BBMP.

Subash Shetty, a resident of Dasarahalli Zone, urged the BBMP to extend the deadline and accept physical applications. "Many owners could not file objections due to website glitches. When one of them tried to submit a written objection, it was refused,” he said.

Some objections sent by registered post were also returned.

Moudgil said appeals could still be filed. “It is an option, but not something the BBMP will push or prompt people to do. We will be moving to demand notice generation soon,” he said.