Pay property tax by March 31: Shimla MC
The Municipal Corporation, Shimla, has set March 31 deadline for all building owners in the town to clear pending property tax.
As per the corporation, people will have to pay the outstanding property tax on or before March 31, which is the last day of the current financial year. A failure to clear the dues will attract penalty. The corporation is imposing a 5% penalty on property tax defaulters.
Shimla Municipal Commissioner Bhupinder Attri said the process of collecting property tax was going on. He said notices were being issued from time to time to the defaulters.
“People will have to pay the pending amount on or before the stipulated date or else penalty will be imposed on them. The corporation will cut electricity and water supply connections of the defaulters if they fail to abide by the notices. Additionally, the name of the defaulters would be made public,” he added.
Shimla has around 31,000 buildings and the Municipal Corporation collects property tax annually. It is one of the major income sources of the Municipal Corporation. The civic body also offers a rebate of 10% to the building owner who pay their dues before the deadline. Despite these provisions, tax evasion continues, posing a challenge to the civic body.
There are over 1,000 people, including government office buildings and over 500 shopkeepers and traders, who are yet to deposit the property tax with the corporation. Besides, there are many who have not paid the property tax for last few years. In January, the corporation had directed the property tax defaulters to clear the dues within 15 days.
