The One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme introduced by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to assist property owners in clearing their tax dues has seen an underwhelming response.
With the deadline fast approaching on July 31, 2024, only 18% of the 395,250 property tax defaulters have settled their dues. This accounts for just 70,402 property owners, leaving a significant gap in compliance. Despite the scheme offering substantial incentives—a 50% rebate on penalties and 100% relaxation on interest—only Rs109 crore of the outstanding Rs734 crore has been collected, marking a mere 15% recovery rate. The scheme was introduced by the state government in late February to address widespread grievances regarding the excessive burden of penalties and interest on taxpayers.
Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli zones have the highest number of defaulters and arrears, with 83,330 defaulters owing Rs181 crore and 62,226 defaulters with dues amounting to Rs99.6 crore, respectively. Conversely, Dasarahalli has the least number of defaulters, with 18,572 property owners owing Rs25 crore. The BBMP is also dealing with cases of property tax revision. These cases involve property owners who have under-assessed their tax liabilities. As of April 1, 2024, there were 16,501 pending revision cases, amounting to Rs222 crore in outstanding dues. Mahadevapura and South Bengaluru lead in these cases, with the former having 1,549 cases worth Rs32 crore and the latter with 3,051 cases totalling Rs28 crore. Dasarahalli, once again, has the least number of revision cases, with 1,012 properties owing RS8.5 crore. By July 1, 2024, the number of revision cases had marginally increased to 16,790, with the outstanding amount rising to ₹240 crore. Mahadevapura reported 1,552 cases with dues of Rs32.7 crore, while South Bengaluru had 3,107 cases owing Rs29.4 crore.
BBMP officials have warned that property owners who fail to clear their dues under the OTS scheme by the July 31 deadline will face stringent recovery measures. “Defaulters who don’t settle their dues by the end of July will face significant inconvenience. The BBMP will launch a full-fledged recovery drive,” stated a senior BBMP official. The tepid response to the OTS scheme underscores the challenges faced by BBMP in enforcing property tax compliance and highlights the need for more effective measures to encourage property owners to settle their dues. As the deadline looms, it remains to be seen whether the remaining defaulters will take advantage of the scheme’s benefits or risk facing the BBMP’s intensified recovery efforts.
