Property tax payment system to be made online in Kerala ULBs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Kerala: The Local Self-Government Department of Kerala is all set to shift property tax payments to an online system. Until now, 70 per cent of the urban local bodies (ULBs) have implemented the fully online payment system called ‘Sanchaya’, for the payment of property tax. The same system is being implemented in the Panchayats as well.

The model includes a messaging system which will alert the taxpayer when the payment deadline approaches. The department has asked the Information Kerala Mission (IKM) to select a service provider for the integration of an automatic messaging system, which also provides a payment link to the taxpayer. The online tax payment facility, along with the printing of payment certificates, will be integrated with the Integrated Local Self-Governance Management System (ILGMS) citizen portal.

Recent events concerning the misappropriation of funds in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation have enhanced the necessity to shift to a fully online system, thus bringing a certain degree of transparency to the system.

Earlier, even after the implementation of the online module, a large number of people were still opting for manual mode as most of them are still not familiar with the system. The new system is designed by IKM and its implementation in local bodies began in 2014.

There has been some problem with the database in local bodies, leading to ambiguous or duplicate entries which need to be deleted manually.