Pune: PMC to Collaborate With Housing Societies For Rented Property Data To Boost Tax Revenue
PMC Launches Survey To Curb Misuse Of 40% Property Tax Discount
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is seeking assistance from housing societies’ management committees to obtain information on rented properties. This move comes after the corporation faced challenges in collecting self-occupancy certificates from homeowners. The initiative aims to impose additional taxes on owners of rented properties, potentially generating around Rs100 crore in revenue for the civic body.
The administration has decided not to extend the 40% tax discount to owners of rented properties. This decision follows the poor response from homeowners in submitting self-occupancy affidavits, known as PT3 forms, necessary for availing the tax discount. Despite PMC’s efforts, including statewide awareness campaigns, around 3.5 lakh out of 4.5 lakh property owners have yet to file these affidavits. Consequently, many property owners have lost the 40% tax discount and are now required to pay a higher tax amount.
PMC officials highlighted the findings from a pilot project conducted at the Sinhagad Road ward office, which revealed several properties being wrongly subjected to additional tax. This pilot led to the decision to conduct ward-wise drives to address the issue. It was discovered that numerous property owners were unlawfully benefiting from the 40% tax discount despite renting out their properties, resulting in significant revenue losses for the PMC.
“The PMC is struggling to allocate enough manpower to identify all such properties,” stated a senior PMC official. To address this challenge, the PMC has decided to obtain detailed information from housing societies regarding rented properties. This data will be cross-verified to identify and rectify properties availing the discount illegally, after which they will be subjected to additional tax.
Madhav Jagtap, head of PMC’s property tax department, emphasized the importance of homeowners completing the necessary formalities to avail the discount. “PMC is offering a discount on self-occupied properties, but many citizens have not completed the formalities. They should follow the process and submit PT3 forms with the required documents,” Jagtap urged.
The 40% discount on self-occupied properties was initially introduced in 1970 but was not legislated by any state government, leading to its declaration as illegal by Union government auditors and subsequent scrapping in 2018-2019. Following public outcry and complaints from property owners, the discount was reinstated in 2022-23.
PMC will begin communicating with housing societies’ managements from next week, seeking their cooperation in identifying rented properties. The civic body will also leverage support from its 15 ward offices to implement this initiative effectively.
This strategic move by PMC underscores the administration’s efforts to improve tax compliance and enhance revenue generation while ensuring fairness in the application of tax benefits.
