AURANGABAD: With the extension of lockdown till May 3, the demand for extending the date for paying property tax, with discount, has once again gathered momentum.
The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation(AMC), however, has not made any fresh announcement regarding payment of property tax.
A civic official on Tuesday said a decision in this regard will be taken once the bills are generated.
As per the figures released on February 7, of the Rs 211 crore target set by municipal commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey towards property tax collection, the civic body could collect only Rs 95.88 crore.
The civic body was expecting a rise in collection towards the end of financial year 2019-2020. But this too could not happen due to the lockdown.
Meanwhile, demand for extension of property tax filing date for the last financial year is also being sought.
According to civic activist Rahul Ingle, municipal commissioner should proactively take measures making it easy for people to pay property tax dues. "The cent per cent relief on interest of outstanding dues and 20 per cent relief in new bills will encourage people to clear their dues. This will also lead to improvement in the financial condition of the ailing civic corporation," Ingle said, adding that he has emailed a letter to the municipal commissioner with the same demand.
Congress group leader in AMC Bhausaheb Jagtap said owing to the ongoing lockdown many people have landed in severe financial crunch. "We are seeking an extension of date for filing property tax until the lockdown is on," he said.
Being asked whether the civic body is planning to offer any relief in property tax to the citizens, tax officer Karan Chavan said the bills have been sent for printing. "We can assess the current demand by deducting previous payments from the outstanding dues and adding the demand for fresh financial year. The decision on property tax can be taken by the municipal commissioner and mayor only after the demand for current financial year is raised," he said.
April 15, 2020
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