Maharashtra Govt Approves Amnesty Scheme for Property Tax Arrears; Penalty Waived
Maharashtra Govt Approves Amnesty Scheme for Property Tax Arrears; Penalty Waived
In a bid to offer financial relief to property owners and simplify administrative processes, the Maharashtra cabinet has approved a new amnesty scheme that waives penalties on unpaid property tax. The scheme applies to properties located within municipal councils, nagar panchayats, and industrial townships.
As per a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), many property owners had delayed tax payments because the accumulated two percent monthly penalty had, in some cases, exceeded the original tax amount. To address this, the cabinet has decided to waive the penalty entirely. Relevant municipal laws will be amended to implement this scheme.
Changes in Local Governance Rules
The cabinet also approved an important change to the procedure for removing the presidents of local bodies such as municipal councils and nagar panchayats. Previously, a resolution by at least 50% of the members had to be submitted to the district collector, after which the state government would act.
Under the revised process, two-thirds of the elected members can now submit a signed proposal directly. The district collector will then call a special meeting within ten days to conduct a vote. As the legislature is not currently in session, the cabinet approved an ordinance to enact this change.
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New Law on Land Acquisition Interest Rates
In another key decision, the cabinet has cleared a proposal to standardize interest rates on delayed compensation payments for land acquisition. Currently, the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 prescribes varying rates—9%, 12%, or 15%—which, according to the government, causes cost escalations in infrastructure projects.
The new policy will fix a uniform interest rate, set at one percent above the Reserve Bank of India’s repo rate.
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