Shivangi Prakash –
Published on August 04, 2021, at 2:56 PM
The Karnataka High Court recently requested the State Government’s and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP’s) responses to a case challenging the imposition of property taxes on unused/closed properties during the COVID-19 shutdown.
The High Court’s Chief Justice M Nagaprasanna stated that if the BBMP takes any coercive action in relation to the petition’s subject matter, the petitioners’ counsel might seek relief from the Court.
According to GT Cinemas Private Limited, which operates a shopping mall in the city, the municipal tax on inactive land and buildings during the compulsory shutdown is not the same as the tax on their “usage.”
During the lockdowns in the fiscal years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22, the petitioner claimed that their shopping mall was shuttered for multiple days.
The most heavily used areas, such as the food court and the movie theatre, were placed under lockdown for an extended period of time.
“The levy of a municipal tax on that property even for the period of the lockdown would be a tax that is essentially confiscatory in nature as the return from that property during the period of the lockdown would have halted completely,” the petition stated.
It was also claimed that even if the retail mall was closed during the lockout, the petitioner would still face a slew of charges and fees.
The petitioner argued that the BBMP or the State Government levying a tax on the petitioner’s inactive building would effectively be trespassing on Parliament’s power to authorise a levy on the capital worth of assets.
As a result, the petitioner requested a ruling that the tax imposed on the petitioners’ land and buildings during the lockdown imposed to stop Covid was arbitrary and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
As an interim relief, the plea sought to restrain BBMP from taking any coercive action in respect of the liability towards the payment of property tax.
The matter will be next heard on August 27.
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