Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to recover tax from new states

Hyderabad: While the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation goes to the extent of attaching movable properties of citizens for non-payment of property tax, it has managed to collect only 50 per cent property tax on state government buildings in the city.

The state government has never paid the full tax amounts for any year in the last 12 years. The property tax arrears have mounted to over Rs 700 crore, including penal interest. With the bifurcation of the state, the GHMC is planning to collect 100 per cent property tax i.e. Rs 100 crore per annum, from both governments.

“As per the prevailing market value, the property tax on government buildings will come to Rs 100 crore. But the state government never paid the full tax. Sometimes only 30 per cent of the total tax was paid. We hope that the two new governments will pay 100 per cent tax and a representation to this effect would be made to both, in addition to seeking arrears,” a senior GHMC official said.

The state government has been paying less than 30 per cent of the total tax levied on its buildings. In the last 12 years, it has paid only 30 per cent of the total property tax every year. From 2000 to 2007, the government paid Rs 10 crore towards property tax, as against the total tax assessment of Rs 52 crore per annum.

After the formation of Greater Hyderabad in April 2007, the government paid only Rs 20 crore every year, compared to Rs 72 crore property tax per annum.
As on date, the tax assessment on government buildings would cross Rs 100 crore per annum, officials said.