Deadline for property tax OTS scheme extended to Aug 31

The deadline for the One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for property tax recovery has been extended again, now until August 31. This comes after an earlier extension from July 31 to August 15.

According to officials, the scheme has seen a significant response, with over 9,000 first-time taxpayers coming forward. So far, the Municipal Corporation has recovered Rs 16 crore under the scheme — up from Rs 10 crore collected during the same period last year.

Launched in May, the OTS scheme offers a major relief to tax defaulters by waiving the 20 per cent penalty and 18 per cent annual interest on outstanding dues from previous fiscal years.

“This year, due to the scheme, we’ve seen a large number of first-time taxpayers,” said Superintendent Bhupinder Singh.

To raise awareness about the scheme, the administration used SMS alerts, radio advertisements, and social media campaigns. “We have received a positive response, and are hopeful that more people will come forward in the next five days,” Singh added.

The city has 1.85 lakh taxable properties, including both residential and commercial units. The total property tax recovery target for the financial year is Rs 75 crore.

If the tax is not paid, property tax wing officials of the MC also take action against the defaulters. Under the procedure of taking action against defaulters, inspectors of the property tax wing visit different areas to recover the tax. The defaulters who have not paid the tax are served a notice under Section 112 of the Municipal Corporation Act to which they have to file a reply within three days, failing which another notice of sealing the property is served under Section 138 of the Act.