BBMP to collect Rs 10-crore dues from Diamond District
During an extensive property tax verification drive, BBMP found that the Diamond District apartment complex has not paid taxes since 2003. Diamond District on Old Airport Road owes the BBMP a mind-boggling Rs 9.9 crore. “This time, we will net all the big fish. By recovering the taxes and arrears pending, the BBMP can mop up crores of rupees. The Diamond District case is one of the biggest cases in east Bangalore zone,’’ BBMP special commissioner, project, K R Niranjan said.The civic agency is getting ready to slap notices on all 917 flat-owners from Tuesday.
The flat-owners in the apartment, which also has 37 service apartments, have been having a tiff with Century Galaxy Developers Limited over the transfer of property. The property has one big khata instead of sub-khatas. Individual properties have not been bifurcated and owners are treated as share-holders. As a result, flats are not registered in their names. Hence, the entire property is one single khata instead of 917 khatas.
“The flat-owners have a longstanding fight with the developers and because of this, BBMP’s revenue is suffering. The property has one big khata instead of sub-khatas. This time, we will take stringent action to recover the taxes” Said BBMP joint commissioner, east, Heera Naik.
To tackle the problem of flat-owners being seen as share-holders, common in Bangalore’s apartments and housing co-operative societies, the state government brought a bill in 2001 barring the transfer of shares by the housing cooperative societies/apartments to its buyers, instead of giving actual ownership. The order was pertinent because more than 600 societies in and around Bangalore had found this method of cheating the government of stamp duty, by transferring shares and not registering properties. Subsequently, registration at the sub-registrar was made mandatory.
However, there are several apartments that have given the law a go-by and continue to treat their buyers as share-holders.The residents of Diamond District are the most affected and have been fighting for individual ownership in the High Court.
According to DD Owners’ Resident Welfare Association president Raja Nambiar, a writ petition has been pending in the HC since 2005 on the property tax issue. “When we are treated as tenants and share-holders, why should we pay tax? Tax is paid by the property-owners and not tenants. We don’t even have khatas and hence no property ownership. It is up to the management to clear the tax dues. Even we want this issue to get solved as soon as possible,” Nambiar said. When told about BBMP issuing individual notices, Nambiar said: “We will wait for the notice and then contemplate further action.”
The Diamond District case is one of the biggest cases in east Bangalore zone.Since the 917 flat-owners are treated as share-holders, there is one single khata. To tackle the problem of flat-owners being seen as share-holders the state government brought a bill in 2001 barring the transfer of shares by the housing cooperative societies/apartments to its buyers. The civic agency is getting ready to slap notices on all 917 flat-owners from Tuesday to collect Rs 10-crore dues.
Source: bangaloremirror.com
Bangalore, BBMP Bangalore, Diamond District Apartment, Diamond District Apartment complex, Diamond District Apartment Owners Welfare Association, Diamond District Bangalore, property tax, property tax due, Rs 10-crore dues
want to pay property tax on line but not able to open the site.
ONE HAS NO INFO. RE ANY DEVELOPMENT SINCE LAST REPORT ABOVE, WRT ACTION SAID TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN AGAINST THE ACQUIRERS / OCCUPANTS OF APTS, @ THE DIAMAND DISTRICT APT. COMPLEX FOR RECOVERY OF BBMP TAXES O/S FOR YEARS NOW?
DOES IT NOT STAND TO REASON , RATHER APPEAL TO COMMON SENSE, THAT , IN LINE WITH THE SAID ACTION, THAT BBMP SHOULD HAVE READILY AGREED AND GONE AHEAD WITH ISSUE OF THE INDIVIDUAL KHATAS TO THE PURCHASERS OF THE APTS. AFTER DULY SATIFYING ON THEIR CREDIBILITY? IS THIS NOT A MATTER, BECAUSE OF ITS ENTAILING SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS, BBMP, HAD IT ACTED PRUDENTLY AND TAKEN A PRACTICAL APPROACH, WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SUCCEED IN RECOVERING THE O/S TAXES WITH THE LEAST HASSLE?