Vadodara: A property tax recovery notice issued by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) for a dues amount of just Rs 5 has left many residents amused and surprised. The notice was issued to a property owner in Bavamanpura area of Wadi.The notice, dated Jan 3, recently went viral on social media. It stated that the resident was required to pay property tax dues of Rs 5 along with 18% interest. It further warned that failure to clear the dues could result in the property being seized and auctioned. The property owner was asked to pay the amount within three days, taking the total payable amount to Rs 5.90.
Such notices are rare and have drawn attention due to the negligible amount involved. A VMC official said that the civic body follows a system under which recovery notices for pending tax amounts of less than Rs 500 are not delivered, though they are generated by the system.“The system prints notices for all properties with pending dues, but we ensure that notices involving amounts below Rs 500 are not delivered. This notice appears to have been delivered due to an oversight,” the official said.Explaining how such a small amount remained unpaid, the official said it could have occurred due to late deposit of a cheque or minor delays in payment, with interest for the delayed period remaining outstanding.
