News: Ghaziabad civic body seals Shipra Mall over Rs 2 crore property tax dues-10-02-2021
On Tuesday, GMC officials sealed Shipra Mall and the office of Balaji Associates in Indirapuram over non-payment of commercial house taxes to the tune of Rs 2 crore and Rs 38 lakh, respectively.
GHAZIABAD: The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) has decided to go after major commercial house tax defaulters, with tax worth Rs 15 crore pending in the city.
On Tuesday, GMC officials sealed Shipra Mall and the office of Balaji Associates in Indirapuram over non-payment of commercial house taxes to the tune of Rs 2 crore and Rs 38 lakh, respectively. However, Shipra Mall was later allowed to open after its management deposited Rs 40 lakh and gave an undertaking to clear the dues by March-end. GMC has prepared a list of about 200 such defaulters, officials said.
“Across all five zones, GMC has prepared a list of about 200 commercial establishments, which together owe in excess of Rs 15 crore as house tax, and we have started a drive to recover the dues. Action will be taken against defaulters, including sealing of their complexes,” Mahendra Singh Tawar, municipal commissioner of Ghaziabad, told TOI.
“The default amount also includes arrears that many establishments have not paid in years. Since house tax is one of the main sources of GMC’s income, we intend to recover it from defaulters and the amount will be used in development activities in Ghaziabad municipality,” he added.
GMC’s chief tax assessment officer Sanjeev Sinha said, “Indirapuram’s Shipra Mall owes Rs 2.22 crore as house tax, which was not paid in 15 years even after several notices were served. So, on Tuesday, we sealed the mall. However, we later de-sealed the mall after its management deposited Rs 40 lakh and also assured us to clear the dues by the end of this financial year.”
Balaji Associates in Indirapuram was also sealed by GMC on Tuesday. “The establishment owes us Rs 38.27 lakh and so it was sealed. We have a list of other big establishments that include Binyog Kolaba, which owes Rs 17.35 lakh, Radhika Enterprises on whom Rs 30.30 lakh is due, Swastika Metal Ford that owes Rs 21.22 lakh, and in days to come, we will seal these establishments too,” Sinha added.
The house tax is computed on the basis of annual rental value of the property.
GMC generates most of its revenue from property tax under which comes house, water and sewer tax. House tax has different slabs that are charged from all residential, commercial and industrial establishments within the municipality and on an average helps generate a revenue of Rs 140 crore annually. While house tax from residential heads amounts to 60% of GMC’s total tax collection, it is 40% under commercial and industrial heads.
GMC may be cracking down on private players, but it is yet to take action against government establishments — both state and central government buildings — and as per one estimate, Rs 60 crore is due on them.
