Latest news with #EarlyBirdScheme
The Hindu
02-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Early Bird Scheme brings over ₹900 crore bounty for GHMC
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has a record amount of its targeted property tax collection already in its kitty, thanks to the 'Early Bird Scheme' announced at the start of the financial year. Early Bird Scheme entails a rebate of 5% on the annual property tax if the tax is paid within the first month of the financial year. The scheme started from April 1 and continued up to April 30, during which the tax collection soared to ₹900.93 crore. This is more than 44% of the previous year's total collection at ₹2,038 crore. The clause facilitating the Early Bird Scheme was inserted into the GHMC Act, 1955, in August, 2013, by way of an amendment. Since then, 5% rebate was being offered if the tax is paid on or before April 30 of every financial year, irrespective of whether the demand notice is served or not. For the past three years, the number of assessees paying the tax within the first month of the financial year has been steadily on the rise. In 2022-23, a total 7,36,639 assessees availed themselves of the rebate, while the GHMC's cash boxes tinkled nonstop, garnering about ₹786 crore. In 2023-24, number of the scheme's beneficiaries rose to 7,43,048, who together paid over ₹831 crore by way of property tax. This was ₹45.29 crore higher than the previous year's revenue from Early Bird, clocking a rise of 5.76%. The current year's income from the scheme is close to ₹70 crore higher than the previous year, registering a hike of 8.38%, which, officials say, is impressive. The number of beneficiaries too has gone up by 50,504 when compared with last year, indicating increased awareness about the scheme. The scheme is given wide publicity by the Revenue wing of the GHMC, and text messages are sent to all the assessees about the scheme along with the online link for payment of tax.
New Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Property tax collections cross Rs 870 crore: EBS
HYDERABAD: The Early Bird Scheme (EBS) has proved to be a major success for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), with property tax collections surpassing previous records. As of Wednesday, GHMC collected Rs 870 crore under the scheme, compared with Rs 831 crore last year. Officials expect an additional Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore to be collected by Wednesday midnight as many property owners tend to make their payments on the last day. Taxpayers are utilising multiple platforms to pay, including online portals, citizen service centres, MeeSeva centres and bill collectors. As of the latest update at 7 pm on Wednesday, more than 7.5 lakh property owners had availed of the scheme. The EBS scheme applies to the financial year 2025–26 and offers a 5% rebate on current year property tax payments made on or before April 30, 2025. The rebate does not apply to arrears from previous years. GHMC told not to interfere with B-Hills property The Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed the GHMC and revenue authorities not to interfere with the possession of a house property located at Road No. 12, MLA Colony, Banjara Hills. Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy passed the interim order while hearing a writ petition filed by Buddi Prakash Toshniwal and others. They claimed ownership of the 600-square-yard property and alleged that authorities were unlawfully asserting claims over a portion of the land without any valid basis. The petitioners accused officials of attempting to dispossess them through coercive and high-handed means, without serving any notice or conducting a formal land survey.
