Karnataka govt extends deadline for One-Time Settlement by a month

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said the state government is extending the deadline for the One-Time Settlement (OTS) of the BBMP property tax by a month.

The extension will take effect once the government issues a notification.

"We have temporarily suspended the payment of property tax for everyone to prevent higher tax payments. We expect the notification to be published within the next two to three days," Munish Moudgil, BBMP's Special Commissioner (Revenue), told DH.

The extended deadline is expected to benefit approximately 2.74 lakh property tax defaulters who have yet to take advantage of the scheme, which was initially launched in February and expired on July 31.

Under the scheme, the BBMP waived the entire compounding interest on property tax arrears and reduced the penalty amount by half.

Since the OTS scheme was introduced, around 1.07 lakh property tax defaulters have cleared arrears totalling Rs 217 crore. The civic body expects to generate an additional Rs 516 crore from the 2.74 lakh defaulters who have yet to pay.

Officials conceived the OTS scheme to assist property owners who had defaulted on payments for several years and were struggling to clear their dues due to the substantial interest and penalty components. To encourage defaulters to settle their debts, the BBMP introduced the OTS scheme through a government notification.

On July 31, the final day to avail of OTS benefits, hundreds of property tax defaulters flocked to the BBMP’s revenue and ward offices, only to encounter a dysfunctional server.

With no announcement of an extension at that time, many residents were left waiting at the offices well into the night, while others faced difficulties making payments online.