Kakinada: Double assessments are causing citizens much hardship. The Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials levied property taxes to include double entries without checking before fixing the property tax amounts.
According to sources, nearly 1,000 such assessments have been recorded for double entries and the officials also issued demand notices without verifying them.
According to KMC officials, nearly Rs 1.50 crore has yet to be collected from the tax payers. But, owing to double assessments, they don’t want to pay their taxes. They demanded that the officials set this right first and then ask for tax.
The officials say that their property taxes have been recorded in manual records. Hiking of property taxes with interest have also been recorded in the new software.
The officials have now issued demand notices, including two property taxes for one account. “To rectify the mistake, the state government’s permission is required and this may take at least six months,” said a Revenue department official.
Meanwhile, nearly Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore worth of property taxes is involved in itigation. Many of the educational institutions and commercial firms approached the courts, alleging that the KMC had hiked taxes abnormally. “It is not possible to collect the amount from the educational institutions, unless courts clear it,” said the Revenue official.
KMC sources said that if a one-time settlement scheme was introduced, the total arrears could be cleared. But, the government has to take a decision on the matter. The KMC has been able to collect Rs.23 crore from taxpayers until now.
The KMC Commissioner instructed officials to collect at least another Rs.4 crore by the end of March, particularly from the slum areas. He deputed additional teams by engaging sanitary and town planning personnel for the task. The officials have made a trial of opening mobile counters in slum areas. But the system failed due to network problems.
