New Delhi municipal council move may allow more time for paying property tax

NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has given in-principle nod for advancing the annual cycle of assessment and collection of property tax from financial year 2023-24 to allow people more time to pay their dues.

While bills for government offices will be raised by April 30, those for private properties will be raised by May 31. “The decision, once implemented, will give taxpayers an opportunity to avail rebates after making the payment in a time-bound manner. We won’t need to extend the deadline for rebates if the bills are generated on time,” an official said.

There are 13,485 private and 1,494 government offices under NDMC. The civic body usually finalises its budget for the next financial year by January 15, but takes a decision on property tax rates and rebates in the council meeting that takes place a month later.

“We requested the council to take a decision on rebates and tax rates along with the main budget, i.e., by January 15 instead of February-end or mid-March, so that the property tax department can speed up the process of assessment of land and buildings, inviting objections and raising final bills by May 31,” said the official.

In the agenda placed in Wednesday’s meeting, it was specified that “the assessment of land and buildings should be done in the first quarter of the year”.

“A minimum of one month will be given for public objections, followed by their disposal and authentication of the assessment list by April 15 every year. The amendment of the assessment list should be done by May 15 and presentation of the private bills to taxpayers should be completed by May-end,” according to the agenda.

The official said the move will help taxpayers avail a rebate of 10% if they pay by June 30 and 5% if they pay by September-end. Currently, NDMC takes time till October-November to generate final bills for the taxpayers, leaving them with only three or four months’ time to make the payment.

NDMC has asked the property tax department to submit a detailed report soon.