Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has faced a significant obstacle in its property tax collection efforts for the 2024-25 fiscal year, as more than one-third of the tax demand bills sent to India Post for delivery were returned undelivered. Of the total 5,64,188 tax invoices issued across 10 zones, 1,89,190 invoices, or 33.53%, were returned by the postal department, citing issues such as incorrect addresses and locked homes.
In a bid to improve tax collection, the NMC had entered into an agreement with India Post to deliver property tax invoices directly to the addresses of property owners. The civic body also paid Rs 32 per article to India Post for the delivery service through its speed post facility.
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However, delays and inefficiencies in delivering these invoices have had a direct financial impact, both on property owners and on the NMC itself. Approximately 1.89 lakh property owners, who did not receive their invoices on time, missed out on the 10% (offline) to 15% (online) rebate on property tax payments announced by the NMC, which was valid until June 30. This rebate was designed to incentivize early payments and ease the financial burden on residents while boosting NMC’s tax collection.
To address the issue of undelivered invoices, NMC’s teams from all 10 zones are now tasked with distributing the remaining invoices directly to property owners. However, this manual approach is likely to cause further delays, compounding the challenges already faced by the civic body in its tax collection efforts.
Currently, NMC is struggling under the weight of Rs 850 crore in outstanding property tax arrears. For the current financial year, the tax demand stands at Rs 280 crore. Any further delay or failure in delivering tax invoices could severely hamper NMC’s ability to generate revenue, which is essential for the city’s infrastructure projects, including road repairs and sanitation services, according to a senior official from NMC’s Accounts and Finance Department.
The non-delivery of tax invoices has varied across different zones, with Nehru Nagar being the hardest hit. Of the 84,206 invoices issued in this zone, 41,419 were returned, accounting for 49.18% of the total. Hanuman Nagar zone also faced significant challenges, with 22,213 of the 73,721 bills returned, resulting in a 30.12% undelivered rate.
Other zones similarly reported large numbers of returned bills. In Ashi Nagar, 14,252 out of 85,388 bills (16.69%) were undelivered, while Dharampeth zone experienced a 25.30% return rate, with 8,357 out of 33,028 invoices undelivered. Gandhibagh saw 16.59% of its bills (4,287 out of 25,829) returned, Mangalwari recorded 19.83% undelivered (12,040 out of 60,705), and Satranjipura reported a 14.96% return rate (5,532 out of 36,968). Dhantoli, however, had the fewest undelivered bills, with just 1,089 out of 20,893 returned, reflecting a 5.21% return rate.
With nearly one in three tax invoices being returned undelivered, the NMC must act swiftly to prevent further revenue losses. Key steps include improving address verification processes and updating property records to ensure that more residents receive their bills on time, allowing them to take advantage of rebates and fulfil their tax obligations. Without these improvements, NMC’s revenue collection is at risk of further setbacks, which could hinder essential civic projects in Nagpur.
