Several city residents whose buildings are under redevelopment have raised concerns after receiving property tax notices from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), despite their old tenements being demolished and the buildings still under construction.
Residents have blamed the civic body for failing to complete the necessary procedures to stop the tax notices during redevelopment.
Pravin Pawar, a resident of Pooja Niwas Housing Society in Katraj, said, “Our redevelopment began in 2018. The developer got the old property tax for 56 flats cancelled and paid ₹12 lakh as tax on the open plot. PMC issued an occupancy certificate in August 2024, after the project was completed. But, now, each flat owner has received a property tax bill of around ₹70,000 for the last six years.”
Pawar added that they had written twice to the PMC’s tax department, but no action has been taken yet.
Another resident from Kothrud, whose housing society is also undergoing redevelopment, claimed that despite their flats being demolished two years ago, they still see property bills raised in the name of the residents. “We have informed the builder and the PMC, and hopefully, corrective steps will be taken soon,” he said.
A resident from Padmawati area, however, said that they have not received any property tax bill as the developer completed all the formalities after their housing society went for redevelopment.
PMC officials clarified that it is the developer’s responsibility to ensure property tax regularisation during redevelopment. “Once the old structure is demolished, the developer must apply to exempt flat owners from tax, and pay tax on the open plot,” said a senior official from the civic body’s Property Tax department. “However, many developers skip this step, especially in areas like Kothrud.”
Suhas Patwardhan, chairman of Pune District Cooperative Housing Federation, said, “Developers are supposed to file an application to nullify the tax on demolished flats. If done properly, PMC stops billing flat owners. But many developers don’t mention this in the agreement, and residents get stuck with bills.”
To avoid such issues, PMC has urged societies to include property tax-related clauses in redevelopment agreements and ensure that developers follow due procedure.
Avinash Sakpal, head of PMC’s Property Tax department, said, “Once the developer submits the redevelopment file, we stop billing the old flats and charge tax on the land. After construction is complete, tax is levied on the new flats as per the ready reckoner rates.”