Tribune News Service
Sandeep Rana
Chandigarh, September 7
The Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), Panjab University (PU), and Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC) are among the largest property/service tax defaulters in the city. These institutions have not been able to settle their contributions, including from previous years, after the end of this fiscal discount period, ie from 1 April to 31 August.
According to data collected by the municipal company, various branches of the BGA are owed about Rs 13 crore, several wings of the PU are pending about Rs 12 crore, and the CGC is yet to pay Rs 10.90 crore in tax.
41K still to be paid
- 41,382 pvt, biz property owners don’t pay dues
- 1,35,564 total rated in the city
- Rs 100 cr biz unit owners dues
Chandigarh Golf Club Rs 10.90 cr
Bharti Airtel Rs 3.73 cr
PEC Director office Rs 3.24 cr
Railway station Rs 2.25 cr
Haryana Mini Secretariat Rs 1.41 cr
“There is no standard. The case is with the court. It’s just that our calculation is different from MC’s,” reasoned CGC chairman Lieutenant Colonel HS Chahal (retd).
Commercial property tax owners have more than Rs 100 crore pending property tax. Even various departments of the Center, the governments of Punjab and Haryana, the UT administration and the municipal corporation are owed the levy.
Matter under the court
There is no standard. The case is pending in court. Only our calculation is different from that of the civil body. —Lt Colonel HS Chahal (Retd), CGC Chief
Issue Notifications
We send reminders to chronic defaulters, in addition to confiscation of property according to the law. In some cases, reconciliation is enabled. —Anindita Mitra, MC Commissioner
Among other major defaulters are Bharti Airtel Ltd (Rs 3.73 crore), PEC Director’s office (Rs 3.24 crore), Station Master, Railway Station, Daria, (Rs 2.25 crore), Haryana Mini Secretariat (Rs 1.41 crore), Alchemist (Rs 1.17 crore), District Court Complex (Rs 1.09 crore), Punjab Mini Secretariat (Rs 83.42 lakh), UT Secretariat New Building (Rs 56 lakh), CBSE’s Education Department (Rs 24 lakh) and the BSNL (Rs 16 lakh).
“There are a number of chronic defaulters and we are sending them reminders in addition to securing the property according to the law. In some cases, reconciliation is enabled. I have written to the head of the departments of Punjab and Haryana to clear their debts. The case is also being taken up with the UT authorities,” says Anindita Mitra, MC commissioner.
“Due to repeated follow-ups, we have recovered Rs 11.33 crore arrears from UT administration due to government building service charges in 2021-22. We are obligated to move forward by law. And it will ensure that all departments collect their dues,” she added. In the meantime, a total of 41,382 owners of homes and business premises still owe this tax contribution (until the repayment period until August 31). In total, there are 1,35,564 assessees in the city.
Those who wish to settle their dues after August 31 will have to pay a 25% penalty with 12% interest on taxpayers’ money with no discount. The municipality has started issuing reminders to the defaulters. Those who still do not pay will receive the final reminder, after which the property sealing process can begin.