Bhubaneswar: With just 20 days remaining in the current financial year, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has released the names of major holding tax defaulters in an effort to recover outstanding dues. Each of these big defaulters owes more than Rs 1 crore in dues.
In the south-east and south-west zones, five individuals each have outstanding dues exceeding Rs 1 crore, while in the north zone, six individuals fall into this category. Additionally, 15 defaulters owe between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore, with the highest concentration—seven defaulters—being from the north zone.
The list of major defaulters includes a prominent private university in the south-west zone, four govt offices, five industries, three private educational institutions, and a private medical college in the north zone. “Their names, addresses, and pending dues have been mentioned. Holding tax is assessed based on the plinth area and is a legitimate revenue source for the civic body. No one should evade paying it,” said deputy commissioner (revenue) Ajay Mohanty.
Moreover, BMC officials said there are 1.20 lakh buildings in the city for which holding tax can be collected. Of that, 5,000 violations have been detected where residential buildings have been illegally converted for commercial use. According to Mohanty, the nature of buildings keeps changing, necessitating constant monitoring to ensure accurate records. “If a residential building adds a commercial unit, taxes must be updated accordingly,” Mohanty added.
Around this time last year, BMC received approval from the state govt to begin collecting holding tax from establishments on land owned by the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco). Previously, the civic body was not authorised to collect holding tax from such establishments.
BMC collects holding tax under the Odisha Municipal Act, 1950, still using old tax rates.