GHMC. (Image: DC)
Hyderabad: Complaints pertaining to property tax and trade licenses have been increasing by the day with people, in their worry, running around civic offices.
Some of the major issues faced by people include self-assessment of property tax not being approved, property tax being hiked without proper assessment and technical errors that inflate taxes of commercial properties as the wrong main road is being selected on the official web portal.
In some places the self-assessment of properties is not being approved by the valuation officer (VO) at the circle. Self-assessment is undertaken only for new properties after assessment of property is done online and the tax thereof is paid, subsequent to which the file transferred to the tax inspector and other officials. The property tax identification (PTIN) number (house number) is then generated.
However, with officials, including the VO at the circle level not approving the self-assessment, property owners are subject to numerous hardships.
Some property owners told Deccan Chronicle that though their self-assessment was rejected, the money was not refunded.
“I don’t have a problem with the rejection of my self-assessment of property. However, they should give me a valid reason and not merely mention insufficient documents as the reason for rejection. The irony is that even after the rejection, there is no proper mechanism to get the money that is paid. We are at the mercy of officials,” said a property owner.
People from various parts of the city also complained of hiked property tax of their existing properties without proper assessment and they are now refusing to pay the tax, which is denting the GHMC coffers.
In addition to this, another issue in the corporation's revenue wing is loopholes in the trade licence application process. Whatever details are uploaded are accepted by the online portal The verification is delayed, denting the database of GHMC.
Despite a significant increase in the number of commercial establishments, a source said that the average revenue generated through trade licences is around `10 crore since three years.
“Only those who have undreassessed the properties are complaining,” a GHMC official said, on being asked about the problem. “They should report it manually or online and we will resolve it.”
He claimed that some people were paying electricity bills in the commercial slab but property tax as per residential property charges but were accusing the GHMC of corruption.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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