KMC’s Assessment dept holds camp, helps complete pending mutation

Kolkata: The Assessment department of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) conducted a camp at the Active Acres housing project at Tangra under Ward 58 to assist the residents in switching over to Unit Area Assessment (UAA) and at the same time complete the pending mutation of the residents of the apartment.

“The association of the housing complex had approached me with the plea of holding a camp of the Assessment department within its premises for facilitation regarding switching over to the Unit Area Assessment (UAA) system for payment of taxes and completion of pending mutation. Considering the large population of the complex, I took up the matter with the concerned department and the camp was held on Saturday. The response was overwhelming with over 100 pending mutations being executed,” Sandipan Saha, local councillor said.

Saha is also the Member-Mayor-in-Council (MMiC) of Education as well as the IT department of

the civic body.

A senior official of KMC said that the property tax collection in this ongoing financial year has already reached Rs 790 crore with the Assessment department holding camps at the apartments and housing complexes in the city to bring more property owners under the ambit of UAA.

The property tax collection of KMC had increased by Rs 250 crore in 2022-23 in comparison to the previous fiscal of 2021-22. The collection in the year 2022-23 was Rs 1117 crore against Rs 867 crore

in 2021-22.

Presently around 40 per cent of the city’s 8.5 lakh property taxpayers have opted for UAA which is different from the old method of tax calculation, where the tax of a property was decided based on its annual valuation.

The Assessment department has made it mandatory for property owners to convert to UAA method from the rent-based valuation system before applying for mutation of properties.

Once an owner fills up a SAF (self-assessment form) and the annual valuation of a property is calculated, it will automatically pave the way for mutation application.

There have been complaints among a section of owners of complicated SAF and their inability to self-calculate their tax as per UAA method. The SAF has been simplified and the Assessment department is constantly working on simplifying the method of self-calculation of property tax.

The UAA was introduced in 2017 and deadlines have been extended time and again to the property tax owners to switch over to UAA.