Ex-servicemen, defence personnel from SAS Nagar, Punjab exempted from paying property tax

In what can be called as good news for both ex-servicemen and serving defence personnel having property in SAS Nagar, they have been exempted from paying the property tax. As per the recent notification on the property tax received by municipal corporation (MC), both serving as well as former defence personnel have been exempted from paying the property tax, provided those seeking exemption have the property in their name. 

The Punjab government had recently slashed the property tax rates for SAS Nagar and other cities. Finally on December 31, the property tax was notified after the announcement of new rates about five months ago. The new rates will be application from April 1, 2014, and those exempted from paying the tax will have to pay for previous year as per the notification that was effective in 2014. The new rates and new exemptions will be applicable on the tax amount for the period April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015.

Meanwhile, even though the property tax has been slashed, more than 50% haven’t yet paid it. MC commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said, “The new notification, and the exemption will be applicable for this financial year only. For the previous year, the tax will have to be paid as per the old policy. We have already given enough time for defaulters, and soon a drive will be started against them.”Gupta added the tax would be recovered by attaching the property if defaulters fail to pay the tax.