Finally, rural property tax payment goes online

Not just tax payments, a host of other services such as issue of Forms 9 and 11, construction licence, occupancy certificate, water supply connections can be availed online

In a late, but significant move that promises to make life easy for rural citizens, the Basavaraj Bommai administration has rolled out reforms that allow them to pay their property taxes online.

Payment of property taxes was manual all these years, leading to money being syphoned off.

Not just tax payments, a host of other services such as issue of Forms 9 and 11, building construction licence, occupancy certificate, water supply connections and so on can be availed online through the website of the Bapuji Seva Kendra.

The upgraded website comes under Panchatantra 2.0, the new software platform governing gram panchayats that was quietly launched on April 24.

“Panchatantra 2.0 is path-breaking reform aimed at transforming rural governance. It brings in transparency in public expenditure with a strong element of accountability,” Additional Chief Secretary (Rural Development & Panchayat Raj) LK Atheeq, who is driving the reforms, said.

According to the RDPR department, the earlier version of Panchatantra resulted in several irregularities in property tax collections: non-entry of tax collected, underestimating tax potential, entering a lower amount to pocket the rest of the tax money and so on.

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The existing accounting system allowed deferred book entries. For example, tax collected today could be entered tomorrow. “Bill collectors can no longer make deferred entries as we are rolling out a new accounting system that updates the books in real time,” Atheeq said.

Since April 24, property tax worth Rs 65 lakh have been collected online. Authorities want to popularise the online method of payment. A Bapuji Seva Kendra (BSK) mobile app is available as well.

Karnataka has some 6,000 gram panchayats and there are about 1.5 crore rural properties in the tax bracket. Authorities hope the tax demand will go up from Rs 670 crore currently to Rs 1,300 crore as more properties will get covered under new tax rules that have come into force. “Even unauthorised properties are taxable. Farmhouses, for example, were out of the tax bracket earlier,” an official said.

Going forward, the government is planning to provide handheld devices to panchayat officials for tax collection. “Our aim is that at least 30% of the total tax collected should come from online,” the official said.

In 2011, Karnataka became the first state to roll out Panchatantra to streamline accounting in panchayats. In 2016, the BSK was launched as the rural equivalent to Bangalore One. At present, BSK centres provide over-the-counter services, including property tax payments.