HMDA awaits revenue nod for tax

Hyderabad: The revenue department is yet to allow the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority to collect Non-Agricultural Land Assessment tax from those who have sought regularisation of illegal layouts, which would earn around Rs 100 crore to the exchequer. The Nala tax amounts to nine per cent of the registration value of the property.

HMDA had written to the revenue department six months ago seeking delegation of powers to collect Nala tax.

Revenue principal secretary K. Pradeep Chandra said, “We are examining the proposal. we will take a decision after verifying the facts.”

The HMDA move was opposed by politicians including MLAs and corporators as individual buyers in illegal layouts and realtors have been opposing the tax, as a 9 per cent tax on the registration value would be an additional burden on them.

An HMDA official said, “When Nala tax is collected for legally permitted layouts, why not for regularising illegal layouts? The tax is supposed to be collected by the revenue department. We can ask the applicants to get Nala tax clearance certificates from the revenue department for regularisation.”

He said that in order to avoid inconveniencing the applicants, the HMDA had proposed to collect the tax and remit it to the government. “It would fetch the government good revenue and discourage illegal layouts.”

HMDA has received 1.29 lakh applications. HMDA commissioner T. Chiranjeevulu said, “The scrutiny of LRS applications is on. The HMDA has got Rs 160 crore through various fees and we are expecting Rs 500 crore more. The Nala tax though not specified in the LRS GO is mentioned in the Act. Earlier, the High Court had upheld the collection of Nala tax. We have sought delegation of powers from the government.”