01-05-2025
Karnataka State announces 5% rebate for property tax paid before June 5
Bengaluru: In a significant move aimed at easing the burden of property tax payments for citi-zens, the government has announced a 5% discount for those who pay their property tax by June. To support this initiative, the Panchatantra 2.0 software has been ex-tended to allow officials until May 15th to include property details (property profiles) in the system.
The government is offering this 5% discount to encourage timely payment of property taxes within the first three months of the financial year. Previously, the deadline to add property profiles in the Panchatantra 2.0 software was set for April 30th, which meant that many citizens would have been deprived of the discount due to the tight timeline.
To prevent this inconvenience, the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj has intervened to extend the deadline. In the last fiscal year, the property tax collection reached approximately Rs1,600 crore, owing to a smooth and transparent process initiated under the Karnataka Gram Swa-raj and Panchayat Raj Act of 2006. Rule 21 of this act emphasizes the importance of reducing malpractices in tax collection and ensuring transparency. To facilitate a more efficient collection process, the Panchatantra 2.0 software now enables the is-suance of digital receipts instead of manual ones, further promoting online payments.
However, some gram panchayats have reportedly been entering multiple property profiles for the same property, causing confusion and issues regarding tax payments for the public. This has led to the decision to deactivate the option for adding new property profiles immediately after tax payments each year. Given the increasing de-mand from the public this year, the extension until May 15th has been granted.
As the government continues to streamline processes and enhance transparency in property tax collection, these measures are expected to simplify the experience for taxpayers and ensure that they benefit from the discounts available. This approach not only promotes timely payments but also aims to improve the overall efficiency of tax administration in rural areas.
