Pune Municipal Corporation Tackles Tax Evasion

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has taken a significant step to improve tax compliance and revenue collection by involving housing societies in the monitoring of rented properties across the city. This initiative comes in response to challenges faced by PMC in verifying self-occupancy certificates from property owners. PMC officials have noticed a significant discrepancy between the number of properties that are supposed to submit self-occupancy affidavits and those that have actually complied.

With approximately 3.5 lakh property owners yet to submit the required documents out of 4.5 lakh, the civic body has launched awareness drives to address this issue. A pilot project conducted in the Sinhagad Road ward office revealed instances where self-occupied properties were incorrectly benefiting from a 40% tax discount intended solely for owner-occupied residences. This misuse of tax benefits has resulted in substantial revenue losses for the PMC. To address this issue efficiently, PMC has decided to collaborate closely with housing societies. The objective is to gather comprehensive data on rented properties within their jurisdictions. This data will be cross-checked to identify properties that are illegitimately availing tax discounts meant for self-occupied units.

Starting next week, PMC will communicate with housing society managements and utilize resources from its 15 ward offices to streamline this monitoring process. The civic body aims to ensure that properties correctly classified as rented are taxed accordingly, eliminating financial losses due to incorrect benefit claims. The saga of the 40% tax discount on self-occupied properties adds another layer of complexity to PMC’s efforts. Initially introduced in 1970 without state government notification, the discount was invalidated by Union government auditors in 2018-19. However, it was reinstated in 2022-23 following public and property owner objections. As PMC continues its drive to enforce tax regulations rigorously, property owners are urged to complete formalities promptly, including submitting PT3 forms and other required documents. This proactive approach aims to restore financial integrity to Pune’s property tax system and uphold transparency and accountability in civic governance.