The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will roll out the new interest waiver scheme on property tax from October 1. Under the scheme, a defaulter, who has not paid his share of property tax till March 31, this year, can apply for waiver of interest on unpaid amount from October 1.
If a defaulter applies for such waiver and pays the full outstanding amount by February 2021, he/she will be entitled to a 100% waiver on interest on the unpaid amount. If a tax payer applies for the waiver scheme after a passage of five months and pledges to pay the full amount, he/she will be given a 60% waiver.
The scheme will expire in May 2021. The chairman of the KMC board of administrators, Firhad Hakim, on Saturday said the civic body would give such an opportunity to the property owners to clear their tax within a specified time.
Desperate to compensate for the loss of property tax revenue during a prolonged lockdown period, the KMC authorities had in July decided to offer a total interest waiver to the defaulters. A proposal in this regard was sent to state government for approval. Hakim on Saturday said that the state cabinet had cleared the civic body’s proposal and hence the KMC assessment department was free to roll out the scheme from October 1. After expiry of the deadline of the total interest waiver scheme, the KMC assessment department may withdraw such schemes, said a civic source.
According to a KMC revenue department official, the desperation to mop up revenue for clearing dues to contractors and keep the essential services going necessitated the introduction of the new waiver scheme. “We need at least Rs 500 crore to clear dues to contractors and carry on with essential services. The decision to offer a total waiver of interest on property tax dues will encourage defaulters to avail of the opportunity. Thus, we can mop up additional revenue from a section of defaulters apart from getting taxes from property owners who pay regularly,” a KMC assessment-collection department official told TOI.