Will there be takers for voluntary property tax revision?

Now, owners who had under-assessed properties and were paying less tax can voluntarily revise the tax.
| Photo Credit: file photo

With the second amendment to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Act, 2024, now owners who had under-assessed properties and were paying less tax can voluntarily revise the tax upwards. Earlier, tax revision was being carried out by the civic body. 

A senior BBMP official said this is an opportunity for the property owners falling under this category to act voluntarily. They will have to pay 9% annual interest and penalty for the dues after revision. A provision was added to Section 144 of the BBMP Act to empower citizens to do this exercise. 

The BBMP official further said the key aim of this change was to provide a platform for citizens to do their part. “This is a carrot given by the BBMP to revise the under-assessed properties. If the revision is not done even after this, the BBMP will send a notice and when the property owner approaches the Revenue Department, the civic body will do revision at its convenience. The delay in revision by the BBMP will only increase the interest,” said the official.

However, there are questions being raised about the effectiveness of this provision after the One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme also did not get the desired results. Of the 3.95 lakh defaulters, only 50% used the OTS scheme.

On Friday, the OTS scheme that began last February and ended on November 30 was also formalised through legislation. The BBMP now hopes that the new upward provision may attract people to come out with the revised tax on their own instead of waiting for the BBMP. 

A resident of R.R. Nagar, who failed to use the OTS, said he is thinking of utilising the new provision of the BBMP to avoid “harassment” in the future.