Relief for residents as Solan civic body introduces online service to deposit taxes

Solan, April 26

In a bid to facilitate residents, online tax services were kick-started at Solan municipal corporation (MC) today.

Mayor Punam Grover launched the online services which would facilitate 11,648 households. Deputy mayor Rajiv Kaura and Commissioner Rajiv Kumar were also present on the occasion.

Residents would be able to deposit property tax, water bills, shop rent, garbage charges, etc., on the civic body’s website through this online system.

A user would have to register on the website using his mobile number. A password would be issued to the user for login and depositing the tax, informed MC Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

Rush at the corporation office to deposit tax manually has often been a dissuading factor for the customers, who have welcomed the online system.

The system will streamline tax collection and aid in speedier execution of development works.

Though the civic body staff has been serving notices on tax defaulters several defaulters were yet to fall in line.

“Disconnection of water supply of defaulters who have failed to pay water bills will begin from wards 1 and 2 soon as they have already been given opportunities to clear the pending liability,” informed Kumar.

A total amount of 29 crore was pending as property tax and notices were issued to 45 persons who had tax liability of one lakh and above in March. While merely three of the 45 residents deposited their tax for the financial year 2021-22, the MC staff will issue fresh online notice to them to deposit pending tax of about Rs 4 crore to speed up recoveries.

The remaining about 1500 tax defaulters would also be issued online notices to deposit their tax soon.

MC officials said that the online system will reduce their paper work and help streamline tax collection.

The MC earns Rs 95.46 crore every year by way of taxes on sanitation, parking, building rent, door-to-door garbage collection, building plan sanction fee, hoarding charges, rent of rest house, mobile tower registration fee, among other sources.

Since the new tax rates would be applicable based on the unit area-based system, the MC staff was trying to clear the old liabilities at the earliest.

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