No need to re-apply for 40% property tax rebate: PMC

Citizens who have already submitted the Property Tax (PT) 3 form to avail the 40% property tax rebate for self-occupied homes will not need to reapply, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials clarified on Monday.

The PMC confirmed that the rebate will automatically reflect in tax bills for those who have already submitted the form. With the new financial year starting on April 1, many taxpayers were uncertain about whether they needed to resubmit the form to continue receiving the rebate.

Head of the property tax department of the PMC, Pratibha Patil, said, “Those who have already submitted the forms do not need to submit them again. The rebate will be applied directly to their bills.”

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ujjwal Keskar said, “The state government approved the 40% rebate after much discussion. However instead of implementing it smoothly, the administration added unnecessary steps forcing citizens to submit forms again. This delayed tax collection and burdened the civic body’s administrative machinery.”

Earlier, all owners of self-occupied homes were eligible for the 40% rebate but the scheme was discontinued, leading to widespread opposition from political parties owing to the financial burden this placed on taxpayers. After prolonged discussions, the state government reinstated the rebate but the PMC mandated the submission of the PT 3 form to claim it.

PMC collects ₹2,350 crore in property tax, more expected by midnight

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) collected ₹2,350 crore in property tax revenue till 5 pm on March 31, the last day of the current financial year. By midnight, the figure is expected to rise further as taxpayers continue to make online payments.

Head of the property tax department of the PMC, Pratibha Patil, said, “So far, we have collected ₹2,350 crore in property tax revenue for the financial year 2024-25. An additional ₹7 to 8 crore is expected by midnight.”

During the last financial year, the PMC collected ₹2,273 crore in property tax revenue. To maximise collections this year, the civic body kept its staff on duty till the deadline, despite March 31 being a public holiday due to Eid.

“Despite the holiday, our staff remained on the field, and Citizen Facilitation Centres were kept open. We used various methods, such as repeated SMS reminders to defaulters, to ensure timely payments,” Patil said.

Though the PMC did not announce an amnesty scheme for defaulters this year, it still managed to surpass last year’s revenue collection.