Municipal Corporation of Tirupati to serve red notices to collect pending property tax

Tirupati: The municipal corporation officials have decided to issue red notices to those building owners, who were not paying tax for many years. In a review meeting held here on Saturday over tax collection, the Commissioner noticed that around Rs 3 crore property tax was yet to be collected from building owners. The officials informed the Commissioner the revenue staff have collected Rs 30 crore property tax against Rs 50 crore in the city.

Taking serious view on the property tax collections, the Commissioner asked the officials to service red notices on those building owners, who are not paying the property tax regularly to the corporation. He also instructed the officials to remove water tap and underground drainage connections within 15 days as part of penal action.

The Commissioner also ordered the two revenue officers to collect taxes from building owners in the coming next 15 days. If they failed to collect 100 per cent property taxes, he said the officials would have to face salary cut as a punishment.

The commissioner directed the revenue officers and staff to take up a special drive for collecting stubborn arrears. The two revenue officers informed that remaining tax arrears Rs 20 crore will be collected from taxpayers before March 2021.

He said the MCT to impose vacant land tax (VLT) on all open sites which were abandoned without constructions in various dwelling localities. He also instructed them to issue notices through ward secretaries concerned in this regard.

In the meeting, revenue officers Sethu Madav, Gali Sudhakar and inspectors B Rajashekar, Suribabu and Madhusudhan were present.