Mumbai: The BMC's assessor and collector (A&C) department has successfully recovered 30% of its ambitious target of Rs. 4,950 crores for the current financial year. This progress is particularly notable given the challenges faced in the previous year, where legal complexities led to a revised target of Rs. 4,500 crores. In the financial year 2023-24, property tax bills were sent out in February, resulting in a total collection of Rs. 3,195 crores by March 31, 2024.
After struggling to meet the property tax collection target for 2023-24, civic authorities took decisive action against major defaulters, resulting in a total collection of Rs. 4,856.38 crores—Rs. 300 crores above the initial target. Despite this achievement, the civic body has decided not to raise property taxes for the 2024-25 financial year. To recover potential losses, the authorities are now focusing on enhancing revenue collection strategies to support ongoing and future initiatives.
Property tax bills were distributed to citizens on October 1. "So far, we have collected 30%, amounting to nearly Rs. 1,400 crores in property tax. We anticipate an increase in collections between January and March and expect to meet our target by March 2025," stated a civic official. Each year, the BMC collects property tax from over 9 lakh properties within its jurisdiction.
The BMC has the authority to increase property tax rates every five years, with the last revision occurring in 2015-16. Proposed increases for 2020-21 and 2022 were both rejected, primarily due to the pandemic. If a property tax hike is proposed next year, it would mark the first increase in nearly a decade. Additionally, without elected corporators in place, the BMC must seek state government approval for any such increase.
Earlier, the BMC earned approximately 24% of its revenue from property tax. However, revenue collection has declined in recent years, largely due to the exemption of property tax for residential properties up to 500 sq ft and the lack of a tax revision since 2015-16. For the financial year 2024-25, the civic body has estimated a revenue target of Rs. 4,950 crores from property tax.
