Varanasi: Building owners with pending house tax dues may face strict action as per the final warning issued to defaulters by Varanasi Municipal Corporation under the one-time settlement scheme.According to VMC, tax dues worth Rs 298 crore are pending against 97,872 buildings in the city, including around Rs 86 crore in surcharge and interest. Under the OTS scheme, the surcharge is being fully waived, but taxpayers have shown little response so far.Although the scheme has been in effect for about one and a half months, only 6,810 defaulters have registered on the portal. Of them, just 2,476 building owners have deposited Rs 3.96 crore in tax.Municipal commissioner Himanshu Nagpal said Nov 15 is the last date for registration under the OTS scheme. Those who register by this deadline will be able to deposit their tax by Dec 31 and avail themselves of the full benefit of the waiver.Building owners who fail to register will have to pay the full surcharge along with the principal dues. VMC is sending reminders through SMS and phone calls to alert defaulters.The commissioner warned that after the deadline, action will begin against those who fail to clear their dues, including attachment of houses and properties along with legal proceedings.
