Gurugram civic body to auction 100 properties of tax defaulters

MCG has decided to auction 100 properties of defaulters who have not cleared their property tax dues despite several notices being issued. The auction will take place by the end of this month or first week of January. According to the MCG officials, 25 properties that have the highest pending tax dues in each zone will be picked up to go under the hammer. When asked for the approximate property tax amount due on these properties, Dinesh Kumar, MCG’s zonal taxation officer (ZTO), said, “We are currently making a list of all the defaulters. We can announce the amount only after we shortlist 25 properties in each zone that have the highest property tax amount due.” Kumar added that the decision to auction the properties was reached after the MCG sent multiple notices to the owners to clear their property tax amount but the defaulters did not pay heed. All the four zonal taxation officers have been asked to draw the lists from their respective zones and it is expected to be put together by the end of December. This is the first ever auction to be held in the current financial year. MCG had planned an auction in June earlier this year, however, it never took place as all the defaulters cleared their dues before the auction even started. On the contrary, MCG had organised multiple auctions during the financial year 2017-18. “However, since the biggest chunk comes in the last quarter of this financial year, it would be not apt to compare the year-wise property tax collections as yet,” said the source. “The state government had come with some lucrative property tax rebate schemes last year whereas this year they have only offered a rebate on the interest component. And that might just impact the collections,” said an MCG official requesting anonymity.