BBMP has sent nearly 2 lakh notices over the past 10 days. May 30, 2009, was the last date to pay the second half installment without penalty for 2008-09. Technically, the BBMP has powers to issue notices from September. However, the process was delayed till the compilation was complete.
In its drive to catch errant taxpayers for the previous block period (2008-09), the Palike has surprisingly been snaring a few regulars. This has shocked both residential and commercial property owners. Venkatesh, staying in an apartment on Sarjapur Road who promptly paid tax for both block periods within the rebate period, was shocked when he received the notice. It said the BBMP is yet to receive tax on his property for the previous year.
BBMP revenue officials, who confirmed the mistakes had indeed happened, said it could be in cases where people paid tax on the cut-off date or later. “We admit it’s a mistake but you needn’t panic if you have the receipt. You must produce it and ignore the notice,’’ a BBMP official said.
According to BBMP records, only 7.63 lakh property owners of the overall 20 lakh properties in Bangalore have paid tax for 2008-09. This includes 2.6 lakh owners in core areas which have 6.9 lakh properties. A majority of residential property owners in the newly added areas are yet to enter the tax bracket for the previous block period. All this when the November 30 deadline for payment of second-half instalment for the current block period is not too far away.
Reference:
Times of India
