Bill passed to hike property valuation by 10% every 5 yrs

Kolkata: Two West Bengal Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed in the Assembly aiming to increase property valuation by 10 per cent every 5 years.

The Bill says that the owner of the property liable to pay property tax shall file a return of self-assessment either digitally or manually as decided by the corporations.

The bills also says that if any owner liable to pay property tax fails to comply with self-assessment in due time or suppress any part of their property it shall be treated as “willful suppression of facts” and the person liable to pay property tax shall be “penalized not exceeding 30 per cent” of the property tax enumerated in the assessment list prepared by the corporation in addition to the property tax. One of the objectives of the move is to do a “rationalisation of the process of calculation of the annual value of holding comprising such lands or buildings where gross annual rent cannot be easily estimated”.

The Bill also aims “enhancement of the annual value of any holding determined under the last valid assessment list every five years by 10 per cent as well, till the new assessment list given effect to”.