Bengaluru civic body to seize properties of habitual tax defaulters
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palika (BBMP) is all set to crack the whip on those who have defaulted on payment of property tax for a long period. They will be slapped distress warrants and their properties will be confiscated. In a circular issued on Tuesday, BBMP joint commissioner (revenue) M Venkatachalapathy asked officials to issue distress warrants and seize properties of chronic tax defaulters. He asked them to act immediately on the instruction and submit an action-taken report. The agency aims to target property owners who have not paid tax even after being served showcause notices. Officials will identify 100 top defaulters in each assistant revenue office (ARO) zone and issue seizure warrants to them. Venkatachalapathy noted that several owners had been issued notices as many as three times but hadn’t responded. “Once the list is ready, fresh notices will be issued. The final step will be seizure of their properties,” he said. Poor tax collection The drive comes in the wake of the BBMP facing criticism for inefficient tax collection. Against the annual target of Rs 3,000 crore set during the tenure of the Siddaramaiah-led government, the civic agency could collect only Rs 2,000 crore. During various review meetings, revenue officials have been asked to speed up the process, but to no avail. “Revenue staff are not following the procedure properly. While they are supposed to issue three showcause notices, they make do with a single one because of which the property can’t be confiscated,” Venkatachalapathy said. Confusion over procedure Once the list of defaulters is ready, the officers concerned will issue showcause notices on behalf of the BBMP commissioner and ask the property owners to pay tax or submit their objections. If the reply/objection to the notice is not received and unless it is closed, the assistant revenue officer cannot issue a distress warrant. But if the owner fails to reply or pay the tax, a distress warrant will be issued before further procedures are initiated. Meanwhile, several officers are confused about the procedure. Some AROs are going ahead to close establishments immediately after issuing the first showcause notice despite the rule stating that they can do it only after the third notice, after getting no reply for the first two communications. “Officials are in a rush to issue notices but no one is well informed about the rules. There is no clarity on how to take police security to initiate the procedure and seize the items after issuing a warrant,” an ARO said. A revenue department official said the BBMP can’t lock any shops or residential buildings. “The officers can only seize movable items and take stock of the inventory. They don’t have the power to lock shops, malls, hotels or other establishments. Another bigger question is where to store the seized items,” the official said.
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