Government buildings owe ₹50 crore property tax

Chandigarh: As many as 1,92,679 property tax defaulters owe over ₹100 crore to the Panchkula municipal corporation, as per data shared by the civic body. The major defaulters are government buildings, which owe over ₹50 crore property tax to the corporation.
The data shared by the corporation shows that 12 defaulters owe the civic body over ₹1 crore.
As many as 375 of the total defaulters owe the corporation over ₹5 lakh, putting them in the category of major property tax defaulters.
At ₹5.9 crore, the Uttari Haryana Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited office in Sector 6 tops the list of property tax defaulters in Panchkula; followed by offices of government of India’s defence department in Sectors 29 and 30, which owe ₹4.2 crore and ₹3.9 crore, respectively. The Haryana sports youth affairs department office in Sector 3 owes ₹3.7 crore and Hotel Golden Tulip owes ₹3.6 crore.
“There is a personal hearing tomorrow with Hotel Golden Tulip. We hope that we don’t have to seal it and that they pay the pending dues,” said MC executive officer Akash Kapoor.
“From defaulting government building, we are planning to deduct the tax directly from funds alloted to them,” Kapoor added.
The dues are pending since 2010, when Panchkula MC was constituted. In 2013, a notification was issued by Haryana government, directing the civic body to collect property tax retrospectively 2010.
Earlier, the government had provided even 100% rebate, but now it has been lowered to 50%. From January 1 till 31, 50% rebate will be given to property owners. “This is to encourage them to come forward and clear their dues,” said Deepak Sura, Panchkula deputy municipal commissioner.
“We have been issuing warnings and sealing properties. In the last two months, we have sealed around 10 properties. Of the total pending dues, government buildings owe us over ₹50 crore property tax,” he said.
As per the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, the corporation first issues notice to the defaulters. “We give them seven days time, then there is personal hearing and an additional seven days time is given. Then, the property is sealed,” Sura said.
“Last year, around 100 personal meetings were held and in the last two months, 10 properties were sealed. We have shortlisted 100 biggest defaulters and sealing of their properties will begin this month. We are going to seal 10-15 properties this month,” he added.