CHENNAI: The state government has standardised property tax name-transfer charges across municipal corporations and municipalities by fixing a uniform name-transfer fee – Rs 500 for residential property and Rs 1,000 for non-residential one, with immediate effect.
A circular has been issued in this regard from the director of municipal administration. The charges were earlier notified through a special government gazette issued on December 16.
The circular states that no name-transfer fee is to be collected for water or sewerage assessment numbers, a practice that had persisted in several municipalities despite the absence of statutory backing. Instead, water supply and underground sewerage connection numbers linked to a property must be transferred automatically to the new owner’s name at the time of property tax mutation, using the same application.
Municipal corporations and municipalities have been directed to place the revised fee structure before their respective councils for record and implement it with immediate effect. Sources said that this will help eliminate ad-hoc levies and procedural delays that have long frustrated property owners.
The circular also tightens timelines. Municipal bodies have been instructed to process name-transfer applications within the time limits prescribed under Rule 256 of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023, and in line with the Citizens’ Charter. Authorities may collect only the notified name-transfer fee and any outstanding property tax dues up to the completed half-year before effecting the transfer.
Commissioners have been asked to fast-track the “mapping” of water and sewerage assessment numbers with existing property tax records, a data exercise seen as critical to improving billing accuracy and service delivery.
Meanwhile, the government has enabled online payment and processing of property tax name-transfer applications through the Urban Tax Information System (UTIS). The system is designed to limit manual intervention and improve audit trails.
Regional directors of municipal administration have been tasked with overseeing implementation and ensuring uniform compliance across municipalities under their jurisdiction.