The civic authority in Agra has sent a property tax notice, demanding Rs 1.95 crore as on Taj Mahal water bill from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Agar Nagar Nigam has also sent a property tax demand of Rs 1.5 lakh to the ASI, the body responsible for managing the heritage building in west UP.
The property tax demand includes Rs 47,000 interest component– the annual property tax on the Taj Mahal is Rs 11,098, said a report in Deccan Herald, citing sources.
Learn how to pay property tax online in Agra in this guide.
According to a notice issued last month, the ASI has been given a 15-day window to clear the dues. Once this window closes, the civic body may attach the world-renowned monument.
This demand is a first since the Taj Mahal was declared a protected monument in 1920 and hence not liable to pay any property tax, say ASI officials, adding that the notice could have been a mistake.
“Property tax is not applicable on monuments. We are also not liable to pay taxes for water as there is no commercial use of it. Water is used to maintain greenery within the premises. Notices related to water and property tax for the Taj Mahal have been received for the first time. It could have been sent by mistake,” ASI superintendent archaeologist Raj Kumar Patel was quoted by The Times of India as saying.
According to officials in the Agra civic body, a private agency is responsible for levying these taxes and demand notices and may have mistakenly sent these to the heritage site. The matter was being investigated, they added.
