MillenniumPost
Bengal

KMC empowers assistant managers of tax collection dept to carry out inspection

Kolkata: At a time when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee advised municipal bodies to ensure efficient collection of taxes, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to empower its assistant managers of its tax collection department to also carry out inspection works to ensure zero loss in revenue collection.

It was learnt that the civic body has cleared a proposal where it will be empowering the assistant managers of the Assessment Collection department with the power of inspection in addition to their existing responsibilities. The inspection work under the Assessment Collection department is generally carried out by inspectors of the department. However, it was learnt that presently there is a shortage of inspectors in the Assessment Collection department along with other departments of KMC. As a result, the departments are unable to carry out inspections related to the optimum level. This is adversely affecting the collection of revenue under the revenue generating departments.

Sources said to achieve the desired efficiency in the collection process, the authorities of KMC have contemplated, henceforth, to empower all the assistant managers of Assessment Collection department with the power of inspection in addition to their existing responsibilities.

It was learnt that the proposal was recently placed in the Member-Mayor-In-Council meeting (MMIC) for its consideration and the same was approved to bridge the gap in shortage of inspectors.

The Chief Minister, on Monday, advised all the municipal bodies to ensure efficient tax collection. She advised that there should be no delays in carrying out mutation of properties so as to ensure the government doesn’t lose out on revenues. Further, for tax dues she has asserted that waiver is offered on pending tax to make it easier for the defaulter to clear the amount.

For mutation, the sources in KMC Assessment department said that the civic body has been able to put in place an inter-linkage between the office of the Inspector General of Registration and the computers of the KMC. Following this step, whenever a property gets sold, the relevant information reaches KMC within one to two days of sale. The civic body officials said this has enabled the KMC to mutate the property in question suo-motu without having to wait for submission of any application for mutation, subject to fulfillment of necessary preconditions.

Millennium Post had reported in February that KMC has been able to reduce the burden on taxpayers relating to generation of property tax bills after revaluation. It was learnt that earlier there used to be a tendency to keep the work of revaluation pending for a long time which resulted in excessive burden on the assessee. Now, an amendment has been made making general revaluation of property within six years from the effective quarter and intermediate assessment, mandatory.

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