Surge in online property tax collection by SDMC

There has been a "surge" in the collection of property tax online by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, with Rs 80 crore collected in the first quarter this fiscal, the civic body today said.
"The online collection up to June 20 was Rs 80 crore this year from 1,60,000 tax-payers as compared to Rs 60 crore from 1,31,000 tax-payers in the corresponding period last year," the civic body said.
The amnesty scheme launched last year has also brought many new tax-payers under the tax net, the SDMC said.
The SDMC is all set to start a door-to-door survey of all properties falling in its jurisdiction next month.

"The department is going to use the maps obtained from Geospatial Delhi Ltd. Based on the maps, the field surveyors will be visiting all properties and collecting data necessary to calculate the property tax liability and the details of tax paid by the property owner.
"This exercise is likely to be completed in nine months. The SDMC had collected property tax worth Rs 900 crore during financial year 2016-17 from nearly 4,50,000 tax-payers. As per the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, all building and vacant land are liable to pay property tax," the civic body said in a statement.
By a conservative estimate, there are at least 12 lakh properties which are liable to pay property tax.

The department is hopeful that this exercise of door-to- door survey will bring the remaining properties under the tax net and will boost the revenue collection further.