NDMC Mulls Hike In Property Tax; Proposes Betterment & Professional Taxes

New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Commissioner Madhup Vyas presented Budget Estimates for the financial year 2018-19. In the proposed Budget, the corporation may look at a hike in property tax, along with introducing professional and betterment charges, to gain financial security.

Here is what NDMC has proposed in the budget: 

Property tax could go up

The NDMC is mulling a tax hike on residential properties at 15 per cent. At present, there are eight categories (A-H) of residential properties and the property tax on them ranges between 7-12 per cent. In case of commercial properties, that commands a tax of 15 per cent at present, the hike may take it to 20 per cent.

For those who opt for a one-time payment, there is a tax rebate, from existing 15 per cent to 10 per cent provided the tax is paid by June 30. Do note that this is applicable only if the property use is not changed. In case of a change, additional tax would be applicable. The corporation expects to collect Rs 725 crore in 2018-19. In 2015-16, the tax collected was Rs 371 crore while in 2016-17, it was Rs 613 crore.

Betterment tax

Betterment fees is applicable on those residents who are beneficiaries of price rise owing to any infrastructural development such as a Metro, a special economic zone or SEZ, an industrial corridor, or an expressway in their area. In the NDMC budget, a betterment tax at the rate of 15 per cent was proposed by Vyas. Know more about betterment fees.  

Going digital

With the Centre's vision of going digital, municipal corporations across the country have been trying their hands at digitisation. As for the NDMC, 4.5 lakh properties and their details have been digitised. Former commissioner, Praveen Gupta had spoken about an interactive portal sometime back that would help residents to ask a query or update details regarding property tax.

Residents would be able to avail related facilities by logging through Unique Property Identification Code (UPIC) number or Aadhaar number or name, address or by scanning of QR code on the UPIC card. The portal is will be a part of the e-governance measures taken by the NDMC and would also have details on the property tax deposited since 2004-05, the civic body had said earlier. In fact, the UPIC project dates back to late 2014 and involves a door-to-door survey of properties with GPS-based data as well as a unique id for every property within the NDMC's jurisdiction.

Also read: Did NDMC Just Click The Growth Button For Delhi Real Estate?

Professional tax

According to official sources, the NDMC is taking steps to become financially self-reliant. Therefore, apart from the betterment tax, the professional tax is expected to yield Rs 100 crore per annum. Those earning between Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh will be charged Rs 1,200. For those earning between Rs 5-10 lakh, the amount would be Rs 2,400 per annum and those earning more than Rs 10 lakh would be taxed Rs 2,500 per year. However, these aren't the final rules yet and Standing Committee Chairman, Tilak Raj Kataria said that these would be discussed keeping in mind the interests of the people.

Besides, there is a proposal for:

*Installing 20,000 CCTV cameras in sensitive areas for which funds would be used from the Central government's scheme.

*Rehabilitation of drug-addicted children. The NDMC has trained 503 staff to identify and work towards the rehabilitation of such children.

*Community toilets would be handed over to private agencies for maintenance.

*Parking lots would be developed in Chandni Chowk, Gandhi Maidan Pitampura and Punjabi Bagh areas.

According to the official release, the budget estimate proposed a total revenue of Rs 8,562.28 crore and total expenditure of 8,562.13 crore, for 2018-19. The revised estimate for 2017-18 total revenue is 5,765.96 crore and expenditure is 5,765.66 crore.

Also read: Property Tax Benefits You Can Avail Of This Year