BBMP’s ultimatum to properties: Pay tax or lose your cars

Nearly 10,000 properties owing Rs 300 crore in tax to the BBMP have received notices, urging owners to settle their outstanding dues.

As a last resort, the BBMP is prepared to seal off commercial establishments and seize valuable items from residential buildings to recover the arrears.

The civic body is cracking the whip on habitual defaulters after framing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) earlier this month for property tax assessment, recovery, and record management.

It has introduced standardised formats for issuing payment reminders, serving notices, and outlined procedures for recovering dues through the auction of both movable and immovable properties.

The SOP has also delegated responsibilities among revenue officers, joint commissioners, and zonal commissioners for efficient execution.

Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), said that around 10,000 properties, primarily commercial establishments, have received notices.

"So far, we have sealed around 500 buildings that have not paid property tax for many years. We will start issuing notices to the residential buildings from next week. The residences will not be sealed but moveable assets, including cars, will be seized if the dues are not paid,” he explained.

Distress warrants

Under the BBMP Act, officers are authorised to seize both movable and immovable properties through distress warrants. The BBMP also holds the power to cancel trade licences for non-compliant commercial establishments.

The civic body has also established detailed guidelines for auctioning immovable assets, if the defaulter fails to settle property tax, interest, penalties, cess, and other levies within 30 days.

For the financial year 2023-24, the BBMP has set an ambitious target of exceeding Rs 4,500 crore — a substantial increase of over Rs 1,000 crore compared to the previous year's collection.