One-time tax settlement scheme for charitable, religious bodies in works

The Municipal Corporation is considering to launch a one-time tax settlement scheme for charitable, religious, spiritual institutes and government and autonomous (commercial and residential) bodies. The agenda in this regard will be placed before the House during a meeting on Friday.

Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla said the step would give a huge relief to institutes serving the society.

As per the agenda, the MC collects property tax from government bodies (commercial and residential), autonomous bodies besides 197 charitable institutions. Government departments serve general public by providing essential services and performing core governance responsibilities. Autonomous bodies such as the PU, PEC, NITTTR, etc, handle certain tasks or achieve specific objectives. Charitable institutions function on a no profit, no loss basis, relying solely on donations for their operational expenses such as electricity, water, maintenance, ration, etc.

With the one-time settlement (OTS) scheme, the MC aims to maximise the recovery of outstanding property/service tax dues and alleviate the accumulated tax liabilities of taxpayers. Failing to settle dues within the stipulated OTS period will entail payment of entire tax dues along with interest and penalty from the date of inception (November 22, 2004) or from the year levy had been outstanding.

Further, if any discrepancy or variation in the covered area is detected at a later stage, i.e., after the closure of the OTS scheme, and the applicant/assessee shall be liable to pay the balance amount arising due to such variation, along with applicable interest and penalty. All payment shall be paid in lump-sum.