Private agency to prepare, serve property tax notices to 7 lakh units

Faridabad, May 24

The Municipal Corporation (MC), Faridabad, is set to hire a private agency to handle the task of preparing and serving tax assessment notices to over seven lakh units in the city. Targetting the collection of around Rs 250 crore as property tax during the current financial year, the MC authorities are looking to streamline the process and ensure efficient tax collection.

Rise in tax-paying units

In the past, the MC staff held this responsibility but due to the substantial rise in the number of taxpaying units and the lack of available staff, outsourcing the work has become a viable option. A tender has been released recently to invite bids from interested parties for the task.

According to MC sources, the units have already been identified, and their details have been uploaded on the official website of the Urban Local Bodies Department. Given the time-consuming nature of serving notices to such a large number of units, it has been decided to outsource the work to a private agency that can complete the task within a specified time period, added the sources.

In the past, the MC staff held this responsibility but due to the substantial rise in the number of tax-paying units and the lack of available staff, outsourcing the work has become a viable option. A tender has been released recently to invite bids from interested parties for the task.

Once a bidder is selected, the work of serving tax assessment notices is expected to commence promptly, said an official. He added that this approach will contribute to the proper realisation of taxes. In the past, many property owners had complained about not receiving assessment notices and reminders on time. Enlisting the services of a private firm is aimed at addressing these concerns. Despite the rise in the number of tax-paying units in the city over the past two decades, the house tax recovered in the last financial year amounted to only Rs 60 crore which, officials claim, is poor. The pending tax dues in the city amount to approximately Rs 175 crore. The MC aims to improve the house tax collection to at least Rs 250 crore in the current financial year, he added.

“Besides serving notices, the process will ensure customer verification and the exact details of property owners to avoid discrepancies in the online tax unit records,” said a senior MC official. The MC is faced with around 6,000 complaints regarding unit IDs generated and updated so far.