GHMC eyes over Rs 1,000 cr property tax via early bird

Sunny Baski / TNN / Updated: Apr 7, 2024, 11:18 IST

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GHMC targets 1,200 crore property tax collection in 30 days via 5% rebate early bird scheme. Over a lakh taxpayers benefitted. Scheme vital, contributing 40-50% to total property taxes.

GHMC eyes over Rs 1,000 cr property tax via early bird

GHMC targets 1,200 crore property tax collection in 30 days via 5% rebate early bird scheme. Over a lakh taxpayers benefitted. Scheme vital, contributing 40-50% to total property taxes.

HYDERABAD: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is targeting a property tax collection of 1,200 crore within 30 days through early bird scheme.
The scheme, which commenced at the start of the new financial year 2024-25, offers a 5% rebate to those who pay their property tax in full before April 30. As of April 5, GHMC has already collected 80 crore in taxes.
The 5% rebate is not applicable to arrears from previous years, but only for the current financial year's property tax.There are 19 lakh property tax assessments in the city and, out of those, over a lakh taxpayers have taken advantage of the early bird scheme in the last five days. The previous year saw a collection of 787 crore through the scheme.
“A lot of taxpayers are evincing interest towards early bird scheme and we are expecting 7-8 lakh taxpayers to utilise this offer. In fact, the early bird is very crucial for GHMC as it contributes to nearly 40-50% of total property taxes generated throughout the financial year,” a senior official from the taxation wing, GHMC, said.

Earlier during FY 2023-24, GHMC had garnered 1,917 crore property taxes, which was 257 crore more compared to 2022-23 after it collected 1,660 crore. The record collection was attributed to one-time settlement (OTS) scheme, enabling a 90% interest waiver on property tax arrears until the financial year 2022-23. This initiative has resulted in the collection of nearly 300 crore in 2023-24.
Despite these efforts, GHMC still faces challenges with over two lakh property owners having outstanding dues, leading to pending arrears of 3,200 crore. The OTS scheme, if excluded, would add significantly to the accumulated interest on these arrears.

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