Over 5.13-lakh property tax assessees in city receive notice for payment before October 30

Chennai Corporation demands prompt property tax payment for 5% incentive, with recovery actions for non-compliance.

Chennai Corporation has sent notice to 5.13 lakh property tax assessees who are eligible for 5% incentive, demanding payment of tax before October 30. 

The assessees will be able to pay the tax using QR code, availing themselves of 5% incentive. The assessees will be able to update their mobile number and email id in the property tax database. 

Over eight lakh assessees are not eligible for the tax incentive of 5% as they have not paid arrears in previous years. Only those assessees who have zero balance in the property tax payment within the stipulated deadline will be eligible for the property tax incentive. 

Starting October 31, the civic body is likely to initiate action for recovery of the amount from assessees by issuing a warrant notice for distraint and sale of movable property or attachment and sale of immovable property as permitted under Section 116-A of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998.

Last year, the civic body initiated action for recovery of the tax amount by issuing a warrant notice for distraint from 25 assessees and all of them paid the tax after a delay of more than 10 years. “Many of them had not paid the tax since 2013. All of them paid after the action was initiated. No property has been confiscated so far by the civic body for property tax payment issues,” said an official.

Chennai Corporation has started receiving calls from angry residents who have promptly paid the property tax in advance before October 1, 2024, for more clarity on incentives for them during the period of October 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025. Around 30,000 to 40,000 property tax assessees in each of the 15 zones who have been promptly paying property tax online in advance have requested more clarity whether they will be eligible for the incentive, after the tax was increased by 6% on October 1, 2024. The civic body has not taken any decision to pay incentive for those who have paid the tax in advance, before October 1.

The civic body has planned to collect ₹547 crore from tax assessees by October 30, paying an incentive of 5% to the 5.13-lakh eligible property tax assessees. The total property tax demand stands at ₹1,800 crore for the period between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025.