KOCHI: Sniffing out tax dodgers, the innovative K-Smart platform, a game-changer for local self-government services, has unearthed nearly 1.4 lakh buildings in urban local bodies that were playing hooky from revenue records and giving taxmen the slip. This clever sleuthing has the potential to plump up local body coffers by a hefty Rs 394 crore through taxes, arrears and fines.
And the plot thickens! With K-Smart now casting its digital net in panchayats, authorities anticipate a significant surge in the regularisation of such ‘ghost buildings’, potentially unlocking a treasure trove of almost Rs 1,000 crore, according to senior government officials.
Santhosh Babu, chairman and managing director of the Information Kerala Mission (IKM), the implementing agency of the K-Smart project, told TNIE that the Kerala government initiated a data purification project to include buildings not previously recorded or taxed in official records.
The ‘purification’ drive by the LSGD found that of the 44,85,891 buildings for which records existed in the 87 municipalities and six city corporations, taxes were collected from only 36,55,124 buildings.
Inaccurate data in the old software ‘Sanchaya’ had resulted in 8,30,737 buildings being wrongly classified as non-taxable for years. This was due to various reasons — data duplication, failure to remove demolished buildings from records and junk data. Despite an estimated 90-95% of city buildings being registered, many were found to be operating without tax assessments, even after getting electricity and water connections.
Steps on to add all buildings on K-Smart
The inspection revealed numerous buildings across the state that had evaded tax limits for years.
IKM developed a software called LDMS (Legacy Data Management System) to purify the data. The eight lakh buildings were listed in the LDMS software and provided the facility to make them accurate and avoid duplicates, sources said.
“Through the purification and quantification process by K-Smart, a total of 98,719 new buildings were brought into the tax bracket, and 44,382 previously undiscovered buildings were added to tax records. This resulted in a total of 1,43,101 new buildings being added to the tax range. The total tax arrears from these buildings, which are mostly operational, amount to Rs 393.92 crore,” Babu said.
In Kochi corporation, 16,168 new buildings were identified and added to tax records, while 11,410 wrongly tax-exempt buildings were brought under the tax net. This resulted in a total of 27,578 buildings coming under the tax ambit, generating Rs 150.28 crore in tax revenue.
With over 1.2 crore buildings in panchayats across the state, data cleaning and database regularisation are expected to yield additional tax revenue and streamline tax collection, making it easier and faster in future, according to IKM officials. Steps are on to include all buildings in K-Smart.
Around 50 local bodies have already completed the GIS-based survey. Integrating these with K-Smart will help find more missing buildings. All remaining local bodies are scheduled to conduct the survey. Further surveys and additions will take place within six months and various municipalities are taking steps to inspect each building at regular intervals with the help of temporarily deputed staff. It is helpful in detecting violations, finding additions to the building and reassessing taxes. Such additional measures can ensure tax assessment and correct data of buildings.
In the near-future, the local self-government department plans to introduce a Digi Door PIN system, assigning a unique 10-digit identification number to every building in the state. Similar to Aadhaar for individuals, Digi Door will provide each building with a distinct digital identity containing information about the owner and location. Additionally, buildings will be geo-tagged.
1.2 crore
buildings across state. Data cleaning, database regularisation of these properties likely to yield additional tax revenue