KOLKATA: The West Bengal Assembly on Monday passed the West Bengal Municipal Corporation (Amendment) and West Bengal Municipal (Amendment) Bills 2024, introducing a new property tax assessment system based on Unit Area Assessment (UAA). If a property’s tax assessment continues for more than five years without reassessment, the annual value will be deemed to increase by 5 to 10% every five years as an interim measure until a new assessment list is finalised.
This reform aims to streamline property tax calculation and ensure greater compliance through self-assessment and self-declaration mechanisms. Currently, Kolkata Municipal Corporation has introduced the UAA, and the process, which was halted by the outbreak of the pandemic, began again. In Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, the valuation has just begun.
Under the new system, property owners must file self-assessment returns, either digitally or manually, as decided by the respective municipal corporation. The assessment will be based on a rate chart outlined in the final scheme published by the West Bengal Valuation Board.
Municipal corporations are tasked with preparing an assessment list within a year from the scheme’s publication, covering all properties within their jurisdiction, said Bengal’s municipal affairs minister and mayor of Kolkata, Firhad Hakim.
While the self-assessment system empowers property owners to declare their property details, it comes with stringent checks. Failure to file self-assessment returns within the stipulated time or deliberate suppression of property details will be treated as wilful suppression of facts. Any misrepresentation or inaccuracies in self-declarations will attract a penalty of 30% of the property tax.
This provision aims to deter dishonest declarations and ensure accurate tax compliance, said Atin Ghosh, an MLA and deputy mayor of KMC.
“The valuation of properties will be determined using multiplicative factors applied to base unit area values. These factors account for variables such as type of location, usage of the property, age of the structure, occupancy status, and other relevant factors for covered or vacant land,” he said.
“The valuation committee will set these factors within a range of 0.5 to 8.0 on a point scale, ensuring fair and accurate assessments. The new framework also addresses long-term valuation updates. This amendment marks a significant shift in West Bengal’s property tax framework, aiming to improve transparency, accountability, and revenue collection for municipal corporations,” said Debobrata Mazumdar, another MLA.
Source Homevior.in
