In a bid to recover long-pending property tax arrears, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Monday announced that city corporations would, as a last resort, begin taking over properties of chronic defaulters after exhausting all statutory recovery options.
Special Commissioner (Revenue) Munish Moudgil said that the decision comes in response to multiple cases where dues remain unpaid despite repeated actions such as issuance of demand notices, property attachments, and attempts to auction the assets. In several instances, he said, auctions failed due to lack of bidder participation, leaving arrears altogether unresolved.
Under the new mechanism, Mr. Moudgil said, “In cases where all prescribed recovery steps have been completed, and auctions have repeatedly failed, the corporations will purchase the defaulted property itself at the notified upset price, which is linked to the guidance value. The proceeds from such deemed sales will first be used to recover all outstanding property tax dues, including penalties, interest, and administrative costs, Mr. Moudgil said, adding that any surplus remaining after settlement would be refunded to the original property owner, through bank transfer.
