PCMC Collects Rs 300 Crore Property Tax In 60 Days, 2,75,000 Property Owners Pay Taxes  

Pimpri-Chinchwad: The Municipality’s Tax Collection and Assessment Department is hitting it out of the park with a ‘Twenty20 style’ performance, collecting an impressive ₹308 crore in just 60 days. Benefiting from various tax discounts, 271,503 property owners have paid their dues. Commissioner and Administrator Shekhar Singh has urged property owners to take advantage of tax concessions available until June 30 and complete their payments promptly.

Out of 630,000 registered properties in the city, 271,503 owners have paid a total of ₹308.42 crore, as stated by Assistant Commissioner Nilesh Deshmukh. Last year’s initiatives, including awareness campaigns, seizure operations, notices, water connection cut-offs, and publishing defaulters’ names in newspapers, along with the timely home delivery of bills by women’s self-help groups under the Siddhi Project, have resulted in property owners enthusiastically lining up to pay their taxes. This indicates a collective acceptance of responsibility by the citizens towards the city’s development.

Residential Property Owners Lead Tax Payments:   
Among the 271,503 property owners who paid their taxes, a substantial 239,040 are residential property owners. The rest include 20,799 non-residential, 6,088 mixed-use, 1,972 industrial, and 1,661 vacant landowners.

Immediate Payment Urged to Avail Scheme Benefits:  
Last year, under the Siddhi Project, tax bills were distributed through women’s self-help groups, resulting in a rush of taxpayers and many unable to pay by June. To avoid a repeat, SMS reminders were sent to citizens to pay their taxes before May 31. This led to some misunderstandings about the concession schemes. However, citizens are advised to pay their taxes as soon as they receive their bills to avoid long queues and ensure they benefit from the schemes available until June 30.

Preference for Online Tax Payment:   
The Tax Collection Department has provided all services online, greatly benefiting property owners and making them increasingly tech-savvy. A 5% discount is offered to those who pay taxes online. Consequently, in the first two months of the 2024-25 fiscal year, 199,807 citizens paid ₹218.29 crore online.

Target of ₹500 Crore in Three Months:  
Last year, ₹450 crore was collected in the first quarter, including ₹35 crore in user charges. In the first two months of the 2024-25 fiscal year, ₹308 crore has already been collected. Despite this, the department aims to collect ₹500 crore in the first quarter, employing various methods to achieve this goal, as informed by Assistant Commissioner Nilesh Deshmukh.

**Breakdown of Collection**  
– Online: ₹218.29 crore
– Various Apps: ₹8.48 crore
– Cash: ₹19.32 crore
– Cheques: ₹12.81 crore
– NEFT: ₹9.21 crore
– EDC: ₹1.71 crore
– RTGS: ₹1.72 crore
– DD: ₹70.85 lakh

Highest Collection in Wakad Zone: 
The city is divided into 17 zones for tax collection. The Wakad zone leads with 39,759 property owners paying taxes, followed by Sangvi with 29,382, Chinchwad with 24,124, Thergaon with 24,727, and Pimpri Waghere with 18,529. The lowest is in the Pimpri Nagar zone with only 3,019 property owners paying taxes.