One Time Scheme to explicit property tax dues till 2019-20: Telangana Govt

In a major relief for property tax payers, the State government on Tuesday announced a One Time Scheme (OTS) that allows waiver of 90 per cent of accummulated arrears of the interest component on property tax if it is cleared in one go. The scheme will be taken up in all the 142 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) including Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and will be effective from August 1 to September 15.

Under the OTS, property tax payers should clear the principle amount of property tax dues till 2019-20 along with 10 per cent interest against accumulated arrears in one go. Thus, they can avail waiver of 90 per cent of accumulated arrears of interest component in property tax dues till date.

In GHMC alone, there are about 5.64 lakh property tax assessments with accumulation of property tax arrears



amounting to Rs 1,477.86 crore over the last 15 to 20 years. The interest amount against these accumulated arrears was around Rs 1,017.76 crore at the end of the financial year 2019-20. A similar situation exists in the remaining ULBs as well. It is observed that there are several reasons like disputes about improper tax assessment, vacancy of the premises, dilapidated structures, and dispute between family members etc, which resulted in such accumulation of dues.

Under these circumstances, GHMC commissioner Lokesh Kumar proposed providing a One Time Scheme as an incentive to property tax payers to motivate them in getting the dues cleared. Observing the need for such scheme to get all dues cleared, the State government on Tuesday issued necessary orders which will not only benefit the tax payers, but also ensure adequate funds for all the ULBs.