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Property tax evasion: BBMP to target malls and tech parks

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Bengaluru: In an attempt to plug the loopholes in the self-assessment system (SAS), the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is contemplating to utilize Total Station to measure the size of the build-up area at various malls and tech parks in the city. The Total Station is an electronic theodolite integrated with an electronic distance meter to read slope distances from the instrument to a particular point.

Chairpersons of 11 BBMP standing committees elected-1Speaking with media persons here on Tuesday, M K Gunasekhar, chairman, standing committee on tax and finance, BBMP, said the objective of utilizing the Total Station to survey malls and tech parks would be to prevent evasion property tax by the owners of malls and tech parks. “To improve property tax collection, the BBMP has decided to provide training for revenue inspectors and also organize Lok Adalat at each zone of the BBMP. We have decided to commence property tax collection drive on every Wednesday,’’ Gunasekhar said.

According to Gunasekhar, there are 77 tech parks and 51 malls in the city and there are possibilities of the owners of these properties declaring wrong information while opting for SAS (self-assessment system) to fix the property tax. “We will conduct a survey of these properties by using Total Station to know the exact measurement of these properties. If found any property owner paying less than the actual amount of property tax, the BBMP will take all measures to collect the actual property tax along with penalty from those property owners,’’ he said.

He said the BBMP had collected Rs 1650 crore property tax till November 22 for the year 2016-17 and Rs 570 crore additional revenue.

Austerity measures

The chairman of standing committee on tax and finance, the BBMP has decided to reduce the expenditure by taking measures to control the usage of petrol and diesel and avoid purchasing of new vehicles. “To save the electricity, the BBMP has decided to replace the existing bulbs with LED bulbs at its offices and buildings. The civic body has also decided to reduce the number of salary dispensing officers to 145 from 560,’’ he said.

He also said the BBMP has given the National Informatics Centre (NIC) 15 days to set right the software to facilitate paying property tax online without any hassles.

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