BBMP to auction properties of top tax defaulters to recover dues

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Despite multiple notices and attachment orders on properties for which property tax has not been paid, it is learnt that the owners have refused to pay up. This has prompted the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to take the next step auctioning the properties in a distress sale to recover property tax dues. According to Special Commissioner (Revenue) Munish Moudgil, around 10 top defaulters have been identified in the city, with two of them located in each zone. Notices have been issued, fixing the date of the auction.

This auction is being conducted under Section 156, Subsection 5 of the BBMP Act, 2020, as these property owners did not pay tax arrears despite the following steps: Show Cause Notice, Demand Notice, Attachment Order on properties, and Sealing in the case of non-residential properties. Any extra money received from the auction will be deposited into the bank account of the owner after recovering the dues for the said property. Moudgil has warned that many such properties, including commercial and residential, may come under the purview of the auction if the dues are not paid.

So far, two properties in the Dasarahalli zone, one in the Bommanahalli zone, and one in the East zone have been earmarked for auction after dues worth lakhs and crores remain unpaid by the owners. The highest amount waiting to be recovered is from a building in Ward 39, Chokkasandra, in the Dasarahalli zone. The building, owned by one M Rangappa, is ?1.85 crore short in paying the taxes. Officials are identifying such properties for future sales. There are about two lakh properties that have not paid tax dues and are requested to immediately clear their dues to avoid similar coercive action by the BBMP.