MC set to launch sealing drive against property tax defaulters
Tightening the noose around big property tax defaulter industries, including government industries, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has decided to initiate sealing action against them. The MC took the decision after getting no response from these defaulters even after serving three notices to these industries.
Pankaj Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC)-cum-MC Commissioner said that a whopping Rs 400 crore, including arrears of many years, was pending towards these defaulters which was a big revenue loss to the exchequer.
“Now, it has been decided to recover the pending property tax and a list has been prepared of defaulters, especially big industries and government departments, who owe over Rs 40 crore of the property tax to the MC,” he said.
“As per the MC Act, it is mandatory to serve three notices to defaulters. We have already served three notices to around 40 defaulters, including several big industries, so far,” said the Commissioner.
There are a total of 1.89 lakh units, including residential, commercial, industrial, mix-use, educational and government departments, in Panipat.
The MC had set the target to recover Rs 34 crore as property tax in 2024-25. But the recovery rate is very slow and it has recovered approximately Rs 5 crore only so far, which is only 14 per cent of the set target, the sources said.
The Commissioner said that Haryana State Federation of Co-operative Sugar Mill owed Rs 4.76 crore, UHBVN owed Rs 4.13 crore, Delhi Gujrat Fleet Carrier owed Rs 1.54 crore, Kshatriya Punjab Khadi owed Rs 77.08 lakh, Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran owed Rs 33.11 lakh, among others.
As per the Act, if defaulters do not deposit property tax and development tax even after completion of the time period mentioned in the third notice, a sealing campaign would be launched against them, said Yadav.
“We will launch a complete sealing action against the big defaulters. A Duty Magistrate has been appointed for this purpose. Power and water connections of these defaulters will also be snapped,” he said.
