BENGALURU: As the government pushes citizens to settle property tax dues and even auctions properties to recover pending amounts, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has also served notices to over 250 government buildings including Karnataka’s key powerhouses-- Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha and the Raj Bhavan.
Property tax notices have been served regularly to government offices just as they are to private properties, but arrears continue to accumulate with no response from the government, claimed sources from the BBMP.
While there is no exact data on the total pending property tax arrears by the power corridors and government offices, sources estimate the amount runs into crores, as taxes have remained unpaid for years.
The One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme, which offered relief by waiving compounding interest on arrears and reducing penalties by 50%, was open to government offices as well. However, none availed of the benefit, and the scheme has ended now.
BBMP is sending repeated reminders to government offices to clear property tax dues, the source said adding that a list of top property tax defaulters from the government is being prepared for each of the eight BBMP zones.
While the civic body is enforcing legal provisions to recover dues from major property tax defaulters (residential and non-residential properties) through the ‘distress sale of their immovable properties,’ it is yet to take similar action against government offices beyond issuing notices, the source added.
BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath was unavailable for comments.