KMC to make door-to-door visits for supplying distribution forms under UAA

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has set a three month time frame for door to door distribution of forms for paying taxes under Unit Area Assessment (UAA).

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee on Thursday held a meeting with officials of the assessment department and discussed steps for facilitating the citizens to pay property tax under UAA that was rolled out from April 2017.

"From 15 April, our assessment team will be visiting households to hand over the UAA forms and inform the citizens on how they should go ahead in filing taxes under the system. We will also have a tax preparator in place in each of the 16 boroughs who will assist a person in paying taxes under UAA," Chatterjee said.

It may be mentioned that among 7.5 lakh assessees only 70,000 have submitted forms regarding UAA. The civic body has already extended the deadline for payment of property tax under the system for a period of six months. The last date for paying property tax under UAA was earlier announced as March 31.

"We will be putting in place a tax preparator in every single ward for assisting the citizens. An unnecessary scare about the new property tax calculation method has kept assessees from embracing the new UAA method. We need to put an end to this irrational fear," a senior official of KMC's assessment department said.

The KMC is also mulling with the idea of providing 50 percent tax deduction for a period of five years to those who are starting any new business to encourage the payment of tax under UAA. " We are also putting in place our hardship removal committee to waive off the fine for those who have their tax due upto Rs 2 lakh by sit in sessions," the official added.

Sources in the assessment department said civic authorities has set a fresh target of Rs 998 crore in property tax for the next fiscal beginning this April 1.

KMC assessment department officials have already decided not to issue mutation certificates to owners of newly constructed apartments or houses unless they go for UAA.