PNS | DEHRADUN
The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) will attach the properties of State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIIDCUL) if the establishment fails to submit property tax this month.
According to municipal tax superintendent Dharmesh Painuly, SIIDCUL has not paid property tax amounting to Rs. eight lakh for the past six years. A recovery notice has been served to the SIIDCUL, directing it to deposit the outstanding amount at the earliest. He informed that a team from the MCD’s tax section visited SIIDCUL’s office on Friday where representatives of the establishment reportedly claimed that they were exempt from property tax under certain legal provisions. They stated that the matter will be discussed in their upcoming board meeting but refrained from agreeing to submit the property tax which is pending for eight years, as per Painuly. He said that MCD has issued a notice and if SIIDCUL fails to comply within the given timeframe, the MCD will initiate the process of attaching its properties to recover the pending tax.
It is pertinent to mention here that despite repeated reminders and appeals for timely tax payments, government, semi-government and aided organisations and some old big establishments continue to be among the biggest defaulters. In a similar case, the Forest Research Institute (FRI) has also accumulated a significant amount of unpaid property tax, which has been pending for the past two years. The outstanding amount from FRI alone has reached a staggering Rs two crore, as per Painuly. He said that the MCD has been making concerted efforts to recover taxes from major defaulters. “The corporation has collected over Rs 45 crore in property tax so far and is determined to maximise collections. For the convenience of taxpayers, the tax section will remain open this Saturday as well, considering the upcoming holidays next week,” he said.
He also appealed to the public to ensure timely tax submissions and urged defaulters to clear their dues soon to avoid legal action.
