BMC to Go Online to Collect Holding Tax

In a bid to ease the process of filing holding tax, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to collect it online from August 15.

BHUBANESWAR:  In a bid to ease the process of filing holding tax, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to collect it online from August 15.

Currently, one has to deposit holding tax, according to the rates decided by BMC, at its office or any Jana Seva Kendra. Either that, or the tax ‘darogas’ visit every household and provide the assessed tax amount, which the residents have to pay. On many occasions, the tax ‘darogas’ had to return empty handed with the residents refusing to pay their due.

But, with the implementation of online mechanism, the residents and commercial property owners can pay their taxes online, making the process hassle-free. This move is also expected to streamline and bring in greater transparency in the entire tax collection process, a BMC official said.

Initially, a few Wards will be selected for implementation of the new proposal and gradually all the 67 Wards will be covered.

Now, BMC has to make do with three tax inspectors and the entire holding tax section has about 100 staff, who are responsible for working on field. But, the Corporation has voiced the need for increasing the number of tax inspectors in the past for furthering efficient holding assessment and holding tax collection.

BMC will begin assessment of different holdings in the city within a week to gauge the revenue which will be generated through holding tax this fiscal. Under the holding assessment, changes in building plan like expansion for floor area or addition of an extra floor and conversion of a unit from residential to commercial complex will be taken into account, irrespective of it being commercial or private unit.

This year, the Corporation has prioritised collection of holding tax as a part of its move to strengthen its own revenue generation for the current financial year. BMC collected more than `20.06 crore as holding tax during 2011-12 financial year. The total number of holdings in the Capital is expected to be more than 1.3 lakh, which also includes about 2,000 Government buildings.

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