Uniform property tax rate for industries across city

LUDHIANA: A fresh decision of the state government to apply uniform property rates across the city has brought relief to the city’s industrial segment. Keeping in mind the industrial development of the city, the new notification has excluded industries from any bifurcation of the area it is present in. Making it simpler for the industrialists, the calculation will be done at a uniform rate of Rs5 per square yard of the covered area throughout the city for units below 4,000 sq yards, and for units above that, the rate is Rs7.70 per sq yard.
Relief of up to 25 per cent has been provided to industrialists for filing tax. While earlier, the decision for non-involvement of collector rates for calculating property tax provided relief to city residents, this new decision to make calculations easy for industrialists is another advantage. Also, the uncovered area of the industrial unit, and all the top floors besides the ground floor will be charged at the rate of Rs2.5 per square yard. Besides industrial units, the assessment will now be done according to the area covered by the property, as well as the kind of area it is present in.
Meanwhile, the entire city has been bifurcated into various parts on the basis of posh areas, semi-posh areas, and the remaining ones. A total of 989 colonies have been divided into three categories under the name of Area 1, 2, and 3.
Area 1 caters to the posh areas of the city, where tax will be calculated at the rate of Rs5 for the residential buildings, and Rs4 to Rs6 for commercial buildings, depending on the area covered. Also, the rate for hotels falling in this category would be Rs6-9 per square yard. There are a total of 350 areas of the city falling in this category.
Area 2 includes the semi-posh areas of the city, where tax for the residential properties will be calculated at the Rs3 per square yard. Meanwhile, rates for commercial properties will be charged from Rs2-4 per square yard, and for hotels, it would vary from Rs5 to Rs8 per sq yard. There are a total of 250 areas falling in this category.
Area 3 covers all the outskirts of the city, which would have to pay tax at the rate of Rs2 per square yard for their residential buildings. On the other hand, commercial building rates would vary from Rs1.50 to Rs3 per sq yard. The tax for hotels falling in this area would be calculated from Rs4 to Rs7. There are a total of 250 areas included in this category.
Other highlights are: (i) Property land holders of less than 125 square yards would enjoy respite, as no tax is levied on these properties. (ii) The rates of tax on non-residential properties have been decreased to 7.5 per cent from 10 per cent.
REBATE UNTIL FEB 28
Residents can now submit their property tax for the year 2014-15 with 10 per cent rebate until February 28, and without rebate and penalty until March 31. Tax can be deposited online on the MC’s website www.mcludhiana.gov.in, including various Suvidha centres, zones, and block-wise offices++.
Tax will be calculated on malls at Rs15 per square foot, and on marriage palaces at Rs6 per square yard.
No tax will be levied on vacant and parking areas.
For industrial units below 4,000 square yards, Rs5 per square yard.
For industrial units above 4,000 square yards, Rs7.50 per square yard.
The tax on a building which has remained unoccupied and unproductive of rent throughout the year or a part thereof shall be half the rate of tax.
This year, maximum relief has been provided to industrial buildings, as well as dwellers in the outskirts.