A Comprehensive Guide on BBMP Property Tax

Bangalore is the third largest city of India and is known for its tech industry, entertainment parks, and cleanliness. For job seekers, employers and urban migrants, the city is a lucrative destination. Considering the size and population of the city, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the municipal body of the city, has to work most efficiently to provide basic facilities. BBMP needs money to work and fund the development and maintenance works. The funding of these works happens through the taxes levied by BBMP. 

For BBMP, property tax is one of the foremost sources of revenue, levied on tangible properties and payable by property owners. In the absence of complete knowledge about BBMP property tax rules, property owners face major difficulties. This article tries to comprehensively cover the BBMP property tax rules and explains the benefits of making the property tax payment online.

As per BBMP rules, not every property owner has to pay property tax. Property tax is levied only on certain kind of properties. This includes residential properties, irrespective of whether the building is being used by the owner or has been rented out. Other properties on which tax must be paid include office buildings, godowns, shops, factories, vacant land, etc. One thing to note is that residential and non-residential properties are taxed differently. Also, in comparison to self-occupied properties, rented out properties are taxed at a higher rate. An important factor that affects the tax rate is the location of the property. Some city zones attract higher tax rate in comparison to other zones.

Using the unit area value system, which is followed by BBMP for tax calculation, you can calculate the property tax liability on your own. Here is the formula to do this: (gross unit area value – depreciation) x 20%. 

On this amount, you may have to pay additional cess as well. The older your property is, the more depreciation it will receive. So, depending on the age of the property, reduction of depreciation amount will be made.

As the taxpayer, if you have made the payment of property tax before, you can also save yourself from doing all these calculations and directly visit the website of BBMP to check the tax liability. 

Through the automated tool available on the BBMP website, you can pay the property tax without any hiccups. To do this, simply log on to the website, select the applicable form and complete the payment. However, on the BBMP website, there are six different forms. These forms are available in different colours as well. Here is your guide to these forms:  

• Available in white colour, Form I cater to the those who have a unique property identification number (PID) 
• The pink-coloured Form II is applicable for those who possess the Khata certificate and Khata number but not the PID
• In case you do not have either of them, Form III, which is a green-coloured form, is applicable for you
• All those who do not need to change any property details need to select the white-coloured Form IV
• For making changes in the details of the property, select the blue-coloured Form V
• Form VI is applicable for properties that are exempted from paying property tax   

It is recommended that you carefully verify the details mentioned in the form and only submit the correct form. BBMP can serve you a notice for hiding information or furnishing wrong details. For those who may have defaulted on the property tax payment during the previous year, the due amount will automatically be added, with penalty at the rate of 2% per month for the period. 

BBMP strives to address all the queries and issues of taxpayers. Complaints can be raised through the e-system by submitting the grievance form. To check the status of your complaint, you can always navigate to “Grievances” tab on the official website of BBMP. With the help of the complaint ticket number, you can see the status of your complaint.

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BBMP property tax payment needs to be made each year. The payment can be done both in one and two instalments. Taxpayers receive a 5% rebate on the tax amount if they make the payment of the entire property tax amount in a single instalment. However, those who choose to clear the tax liability in two instalments are not eligible to receive any discount. As per their convenience, taxpayers can choose to make the payment online or offline. 

Online payments can be made through the payment gateways available on the BBMP website. After making the tax payment online, an e-receipt is generated. However, if you are making the payment through cheque, you will have to wait for a longer period of time for the receipt, which can only be downloaded after the cheque is realised. For the offline payment of property tax, either visit the branch of the bank BBMP has tied up with (Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, ICCI Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, etc.) for the collection of property tax or the nearest Bangalore 1 Centre.