Chennai, August 13: Amidst public complaints regarding property tax increases, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has clarified that there is no new tax hike. Instead, the tax has been reassessed for homes and shops where discrepancies were found between actual construction area and recorded area.
The GCC conducted a thorough review using GIS mapping, satellite data, government records, and information provided by property owners. This investigation revealed that approximately 350,000 property owners were not paying taxes on their entire constructed area. In many cases, the recorded area was less than the actual area.
Corporation Commissioner G.S. Sameeran stated that this reassessment applies only to residential and commercial properties that were incorrectly evaluated or taxed based on a smaller constructed area.
The GIS survey began after the corporation collected self-declaration details in 2018. This information was later matched with the corporation’s existing records.
Officials noted that around 350,000 property owners were not paying taxes on their full constructed area. The purpose of the reassessment is to rectify these discrepancies and ensure that properties of similar sizes are taxed uniformly. Property owners who disagree with the revised valuation can file an appeal within 15 days of receiving the notice.
The corporation has assured that objections will be investigated and resolved within 30 days. Appeals can be submitted to the relevant regional deputy commissioner or at regional offices.
Assessors have been instructed to collect objection forms and forward them to the appropriate regional authority. In case of a high volume of appeals, special camps will be organized. The operators of the corporation’s 1913 helpline have also been directed to provide clear and accurate information to residents seeking clarification.
The issue gained political significance after numerous property owners complained about significant increases in their tax assessments. Deputy Mayor Magesh Kumar stated that the DMK-led council decided to postpone the annual property tax increase to avoid imposing an additional burden on residents.
He mentioned that the council had previously asked the commissioner to seek a special allocation of ₹2,000 crore from the Tamil Nadu government instead of implementing the hike.
Magesh Kumar alleged that the reassessment process was carried out without informing the council. However, corporation officials emphasized that this process was necessary due to frequent complaints about significant tax payment discrepancies among owners of similarly sized properties.
The corporation hopes that the reassessment will resolve long-standing inequalities and generate an additional annual revenue of approximately ₹170 crore. Officials stressed that this amendment aims to recover taxes on areas that were previously unassessed, rather than applying a city-wide tax increase.
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