Corporation slaps notice on Ramki for evading property tax for 13 years

On Wednesday, Corporation officials pasted a notice outside Ramki’s property on Cathedral Road (Teynampet zone), as per protocol, highlighting that the property tax has not been paid for more than a decade. 

A Corporation official said, “The property tax has not been paid for 13 years and the amount due is Rs 1.7 lakh.” According to the Corporation, Rs 586 crore has been collected as property tax whereas last year, during this time, Rs 577 crore was collected. Moreover, a senior Corporation official said that even though the property tax due is Rs 150 crore, the amount is much higher when arrears are added to it. 

“The dues, when you include the arrears, ranges anywhere between Rs 200-250 crore,” said the official. He added that the civic body is identifying defaulters and aggressively issuing notices, to recover the revenue for the financial year. 

This attempt, however, is compounded by the legalities, as quite a few people are approaching the Madras High Court for redressal. 

“Instead of approaching the Tax Appellate Tribunal, people are directly approaching the court. On the court’s direction, we remeasure or calculate again, following which the tax is paid. But the legalities are extending the process,” said the official.