Chandigarh industrialists decry exclusion from deadline extension for property tax payments with rebate
Chandigarh administration had extended the deadline for property tax payment with rebate till July 31 from original May 31, but said it was only for residential and commercial categories
Property owners in the industrial areas were in for a harsh reality-check on Monday when the municipal corporation (MC) officials asked them to pay property tax by Monday evening or face penalty for late payment.
This comes at a time when the UT administration, on May 26, extended the due date for property tax payment with rebate till July 31 from original May 31.
MC officials clarified that the due date extension was only meant for the residential and commercial categories of properties, and industrial area was not covered under it.
MC commissioner Anindita Mitra said, “As per the notification on the property tax, industrial properties like institutional and government properties are a distinct category than the commercial category. So, the administration’s May 26 notification on the extension of the last date of property tax payment with rebate does not cover industrial properties.”
Nitin Kumar Yadav, secretary, local government, in his order stated, “In pursuance of the proposal submitted by the municipal corporation dated May 24, the UT Administrator is pleased to extend the due date for depositing the property tax with rebate, for commercial as well as residential properties for a period of two months that is up to July 31.”
MC is offering a 20% rebate to residential property tax payers and 10% to commercial entities if tax for the 2022-23 fiscal is deposited before the deadline. As per the MC clarification, for commercial and residential properties, the deadline or due date is July 31, while for all categories of properties it is May 31.
After due date, the civic body imposes a penalty of 25%, along with 12% interest, on the tax dues, sans rebate.
Meanwhile, industry associations have a different take on the issue. A senior functionary of the Industries Association of Chandigarh, Siddharth Gupta, said, “Property owners in industrial area on Monday were asked by the MC officials to deposit the property tax by today or face penalty.”
“This is condemnable as the administration has already extended the last date for property payment. Industrial area properties are covered under the commercial category,” he added.
Pointing out that industrial area properties have always been bracketed with commercial category for property tax payment purposes, Naveen Manglani, former president of Chandigarh Chamber of Industries, said, “Administration’s notification very clearly states extension for commercial properties then why properties in industrial area are not being given the relief.”