BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) revenue department collected a whopping Rs 3,332 crore for the financial year 2022-2023 as against Rs 3,088 crore in the previous financial year.
BBMP revenue commissioner RL Deepak said that BBMP property collection has seen an uptick as the Palike had set a target of over Rs 4,000 crore through property tax collection for the financial year. The civic body hopes to collect more revenue through other initiatives like checking with Bescom metre readings and verifying self-assessment tax reports by property owners, which can bring in an additional Rs 300-plus crore.
The Palike’s tax collection was 75.13 per cent in 2022-2023. Compared to last year, over Rs 250 crore more revenue has been collected which can be attributed to a robust collection system, and the Palike will try to raise its property tax in 2023-2024, said Deepak.
Unlike last time, senior BBMP officials said that they will cover more houses to compare Bescom meters and self-assessment tax report. “The owners who have been avoiding paying taxes or were paying it less by falsely declaring their commercial properties as residential, and declaring lower value of their properties will receive demand notices. Earlier, of the 20,000 properties, 7,000 owners were given demand notices,” said a revenue department official.
The official also said that the Palike has offered a one time settlement scheme from March 27 for six months for state and central government agencies and their undertakings to clear their dues. “If these initiatives work out well, the Palike will earn an additional Rs 300 crore to Rs 700 crore in 2023-2024.”