LUCKNOW: In a first, the Municipal Corporation of Agra has issued a notice to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) asking it to pay property tax worth Rs 1.47 lakh and a water bill worth Rs 1.9 crore for the monument of love, the iconic Taj Mahal.
A period of 15 days has been given to ASI to pay the bills, failing which the property (Taj Mahal) would be "attached."
However, the ASI claimed that the notice issued by the Agra Municipal Corporation seemed to be a 'mistake'.
The ASI superintending archaeologist for Agra circle, Dr Raj Kumar Patel confirmed the notices saying that three notices were received by ASI so far-- two for the Taj Mahal and one for the Agra Fort. For the Taj Mahal, the notice for water tax worth Rs 1 crore and one for property tax worth Rs 1.47 lakh has been received by the ASI.
Asserting that monuments were not liable for municipal taxes, Patel said that the notices seemed to have been sent by mistake and the ASI had reverted to Nagar Nigam Agra on the same.
"Property tax is not applicable on monuments. We are also not liable to pay taxes for water as there is no commercial use of it. Water is used to maintain greenery within the premises. Notices related to water and property tax for the Taj Mahal have been received for the first time. It could have been sent by mistake," said Patel.
Significantly, over a century ago, the Taj Mahal was declared a protected monument of national importance in 1920. Since then, this is the first time that such notices pertaining to water tax and property tax have been issued against it.
The notices, received by ASI officials recently, were issued by the tax fixation officer of Agra Municipal Corporation on November 25.
The Taj Mahal is a world heritage site located on the south bank of river Yamuna in Agra. Built between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the 307-year-old monument, figuring among the seven wonders of the world, draws millions of tourists from every nook and corner of the globe annually.
The notice for the financial year 2021-22 and 2022-23 of Municipal Corporation reportedly has the mention of interest of Rs 47943 incurred over the property tax of Rs 88784 against the Taj Mahal till March 31, 2022.
The property tax of 2022-23 to the tune of Rs 11098 has also been mentioned in the notice. It has the breakup of total property tax of Rs 147826 pending against the Taj.
Patel said that property tax or house tax was not applicable to monuments and the same law was applicable in UP as well. The Agra fort, a UNESCO world heritage site built by the Mughal emperor Akbar, was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal dynasty until 1638 when the capital was shifted to Delhi.
This historic monument has also received a tax demand worth Rs 5 crore, said the ASI official.
Meanwhile, civic authorities claimed that the notice was served for property and water tax pending against the ticket window and residential wing at the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal and not the monument itself, Municipal commissioner Nikhil T Funde expressed ignorance.
He claimed that he was not aware of any such tax-related notices issued against the Taj Mahal and any action would be initiated in that direction on the basis of the response received from ASI. Assistant municipal commissioner and in-charge of the Tajganj zone, Sarita Singh, said that the matter related to notices issued for water and property tax on the Taj Mahal was being investigated.
A private company has been tasked to realise tax on the basis of a Geographic Information Survey (GIS), he added.