18,000 properties in merged areas out of PMC’s tax ambit

Pune: Around 18,000 properties from PMC's merged areas are still out of the tax ambit, causing a loss of about Rs 80 crore to the civic body.
"The administration has come across 45 officials who have not done their duties properly. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will act against these officials for dereliction of duty. A fine equal to a month's salary will be charged," said a senior official of PMC.
"The PMC has issued show cause notices to officials responsible for adding the properties in the tax ambit.They will be subjected to action, if found guilty," said Madhav Jagtap, head of PMC's property tax department.
He said that the PMC has now introduced a system for regular transfers of tax assessment staff. It will improve tax assessment. The ward offices and head of PMC's tax department must be kept in the loop to speed up tax assessment.
According to the data, the civic areas had around 8.5 lakh properties before the merger of 11 areas in 2017. The number of properties in PMC's tax ambit rose to 10 lakh after the merger, with addition of 1.5 lakh properties. The total number of properties reached around 12.5 lakh in 2021 after 23 villages were merged.
PMC charges a number of levies in property tax, including municipal tax, general tax, water bill, cleaning tax, fire tax, tree conservation tax, and road tax. Apart from it, tax is also charged for education and other facilities.
According to activists, action against senior officials is a must. "Many officials are hand in glove with influential locals. They make sure that the property is not assessed. But this leads to loss of revenue for the civic body," said Vijay Kumbhar of Surajya Sangharsha Samiti, a citizen group.
A PMC official said that the total property tax to be recovered from the 34 merged areas is Rs 1,245 crore. The civic administration had organised a drive to seal properties of defaulters. But it was stopped after local leaders and residents complained about high tax rates in PMC areas. Property owners of merged areas have objected to charging of tax at high rates, citing poor infrastructure.
As per PMC officials, the tax rates are defined based on annual rateable value (ARV). The ARV of any land or building assessable to property tax is the annual rent at which land or building might reasonably be expected to be let out from year to year. The property tax is assessed on basis of the carpet area of the building/property. Property tax is calculated on factors such as the carpet area of the property, type of property either residential / non-residential / mixed/ miscellaneous/ industrial / open land and as per ready reckoner rates.
People/institutes who own/possess land/buildings within the limits of PMC have to pay property tax. Tax is also applicable for all properties and open lands within the civic limits. All these factors are considered while finalising rates of hostels and other rental residential facilities.