Chennai Corporation to Generate ₹136.75 Crore Additional Revenue Through GIS Tax Reforms

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) anticipates an annual revenue boost of ₹136.75 crore by rectifying tax anomalies identified through its Geographic Information System (GIS) initiative. This amount adds to its regular tax collection and comes from adjustments in property, professional, company taxes, and trade licenses.

A GCC Revenue Department official confirmed ongoing inspections of commercial properties under the GIS initiative. Residential property inspections will commence later, as per higher authority directives.

Significant Tax Collection Growth

The GIS findings have already translated into a notable rise in tax collections. During the incentive period from October 1-30, the GCC collected ₹372 crore in FY 2024-25, marking a ₹50 crore increase compared to ₹329 crore in the same period last year.

Addressing Tax Gaps

The GCC has identified thousands of unmatched or under-assessed properties and businesses. These discrepancies contribute significantly to the additional revenue demand: ₹96.52 crore from property tax, ₹36.98 crore from professional tax, and ₹3.25 crore from trade licenses and company tax as of September 28.

Unmatched properties refer to those missing from GCC’s records, while under-assessed properties are either incorrectly registered or taxed below their actual value. For instance, a property taxed at ₹1,000 may now be reassessed at ₹1,500, creating an additional demand of ₹500.

Pending Assessments

As of September 28, GCC’s system identified 12.52 lakh under-assessed property tax bills, including 59,302 commercial and 2.24 lakh residential properties. Of these, only 10,216 residential bills have been verified, with 2.14 lakh still awaiting review.

Similarly, for professional tax, 2.22 lakh bills were flagged, with 1.75 lakh verified and 46,693 pending. For trade licenses and company taxes, 2.20 lakh records were flagged, of which 83,771 were verified, leaving 1.37 lakh unverified.

This reassessment initiative, undertaken a decade after its last review, follows the GCC’s GIS survey of commercial properties completed two years ago.