OTS till Aug. 31; property tax deadline in B'luru extended

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: In relief for around 2.7 lakh property tax defaulters in Bengaluru, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday extended the One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for property tax till August 31.

Introduced in February by the state government, OTS gives defaulters an option of paying taxes free of interest and at half the penalty rates.

The deadline which ended on Wednesday, July 31, has now been extended after requests from citizens. It was earlier reported that BBMP revenue offices were filled with taxpayers on Thursday after a network server crash.

“We have extended the deadline citing this issue. A few taxpayers have also faced problems in paying via cheque,” Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, said.

For the Palike, which has collected Rs 600 crore more in taxes than it did at this time last year (Rs.3065.82 crore), their aim of collecting Rs. 5200 crore may well be on track.