Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) collected Rs 1,320.26 crore in the form of property taxes in the 2017-18 financial year, against a target of Rs 1,400 crore.
The amount collected was Rs 115 crore more than the amount collected in 2016-17, which was Rs 1205.73 crore. Though the number of people paying property taxes reduced from 12,85,933 to 12,18,335, the total amount increased.
The number of payments made through online transactions increased by Rs 89.68 crore as compared to the previous year. Rs 199.43 crore was collected from 3,08,339 people through online transactions.
Serilingampally Circle collected a record Rs 137 crore, the highest among all 30 circles of the GHMC. The GHMC received 1,21,019 applications under its building regularisation scheme, of which it verified 76,324 applications. It collected Rs 35.24 crore as property tax for 28,859 assets.
Eight circles were able to achieve the property tax collection targets set for them. Circles in the West Zone and the Central Zone are known for achieving their targets. However, three of the eight circles that achieved their targets last year are in the East Zone, and two are in the South Zone. The Abids circle had the lowest collection; it failed to meet its target. Meanwhile, the Charminar-5A and Charminar-5B circles achieved 105.76 per cent and 105.22 per cent of their targets respectively. As part of its early bird offer, in which taxpayers are offered a five percent rebate for early payment of their taxes, the GHMC collected Rs 368.3 crore. Officials are requesting citizens to avail of the offer for the 2018-19 financial year as well. It is valid until April 30, 2018.
