KMC has provision to cut off water supply if taxes are pending for over 1 yr, warns Mayor

KOLKATA: In the wake of arrears in payment of taxes, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Firhad Hakim, warned that the civic body has the provision to make use of provisions under the KMC Act allowing disconnection of water supply in case taxes are pending over a year.

A KMC councillor raised the issue of the civic body finding it difficult to collect taxes from old properties where the tenant is in a dispute with the owner.

He said that the owners often complain that they are paid low rents by the tenant and hence are unable to pay property taxes on time. Tenants complain that it is the owner’s responsibility to pay property taxes.

The councillor suggested that the KMC officials of the tax collection department be thoroughly briefed about the legal options available for collecting taxes from such properties.

Mayor Firhad Hakim said: “It is the owner, who is responsible for paying taxes on properties with tenants. However, we also can collect taxes from the tenant through the ‘person liable’ option. Using this, we can raise the bill in the name of the tenant if need be.”He added: “The KMC has the provision to use Section 275 of the KMC Act 1980 where if property tax is unpaid for over a year, the water supply line can be disconnected. However, since water is considered the second name for life, we refrain from doing it.”

Speaking about the rules in this regard, Hakim said: “Earlier when former Mayor Subrata Mukherjee had disconnected the water supply line of a renowned hotel at Esplanade, the court had directed the KMC to first frame rules for specific cases where such a stringent action needs to be taken. These rules have not been framed yet but that does not mean the civic body cannot use the Section concerned under the KMC Act in the future.”

Hakim clarified that it is mostly the “big taxpayers” who keep defaulting in paying their tax dues. “Small taxpayers do not have arrears. It is mostly the big ones who continue to build arrears,” he remarked.

Millennium Post, early this month, reported that the KMCintroduced several tax reduction policies to encourage citizens. KMC sources said that tax reduction could be availed incases of heritage properties under the ‘A’ category. Further, KMC is thinking of reducing the tax on commercial properties that came up after 2017.