62 Property Owners Settle Tax Arrears to Prevent Sealing Of Properties

1. Pimpri Chinchwad: The tax collection and taxation department of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has taken swift action to seize properties of defaulters who have ignored repeated appeals to settle their tax arrears.
2. Out of the 68 individuals whose properties were at risk of confiscation, 62 promptly paid their dues upon the arrival of the confiscation team, either by check or cash. The municipal corporation’s tax collection department urges defaulters to promptly clear their tax arrears to prevent the seizure of their properties.

The city boasts a total of 6,07,000 registered properties, including residential, industrial, non-residential, mixed, and vacant land. The municipal corporation’s tax collection department has been diligently collecting taxes from property owners. In the past year, they undertook various activities, including public awareness campaigns, confiscation drives, issuing notices to property owners, disconnecting tap connections, publishing lists of defaulters in newspapers, and this year, distributing bills through women’s self-help groups, as well as raising public awareness through rickshaws, prominent intersection hoardings, social media competitions, and more.

Customized SMS messages were sent to each individual, stating their property tax amount and any applicable concessions. These efforts resulted in the collection of Rs. 585 crores in tax revenue during the first half of the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Starting from October 1, a two percent late fee has been imposed on property owners who have not responded to repeated appeals to pay their taxes, leading to a vigorous campaign to confiscate the properties of defaulters.

In the current fiscal year 2023-24, the tax collection department has issued seizure notices to 41,307 individuals and seizure letters to 36,719 property holders who collectively owe Rs. 671 crore in tax arrears. Non-residential and vacant properties have been seized from those who continued to evade taxes despite receiving notices.

The confiscation drive began on October 3, with 2,184 property owners receiving seizure warrants. Out of these, 1,948 properties were eligible for confiscation, and 68 properties have been seized. Upon the initiation of the seizures, 62 property owners promptly settled their dues, contributing a total of Rs. 87,37,000 in cash or checks, while six properties have been sealed.

Campaign Strategies:

The confiscation campaign will see the implementation of various activities to reach a wider audience:

• Targeted YouTube advertisements will be used to reach the desired audience.
• Rickshaws will be utilized to create awareness, featuring jingles and bold posters about the confiscation campaign.
• An advertising campaign, inspired by Amul, will run in prominent newspapers distributed within the Municipal Corporation, featuring informative and satirical advertisements for three consecutive months. Pamphlets will also be distributed.

In addition to these efforts, the Tax Collection Department of the Municipal Corporation has launched a WhatsApp channel. This channel will disseminate information about various discount schemes and updates related to tax collection and taxation. Assistant Commissioner Nilesh Deshmukh emphasizes the effective use of social media to connect with as many citizens as possible.