Gzb revises tax structure, hike to impact 600,000 properties

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation will implement a revised property tax structure, which is set to increase the tax burden on around 600,000 residential and commercial properties. Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the new rates will apply retrospectively from 1 April 2024.

According to the corporation, the state government has authorised the municipal commissioner to revise rental values—the basis for calculating property tax. The decision is backed by Section 174 of the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1959, and the UP Municipal Corporation (Property Taxes) Rules, 2000.

“We issued a notification for the new structure on 9 January 2024. From 1 April, tax bills for new properties have followed this structure. Although the corporation board rejected the proposal in October 2024, we sought clarity from the state. Officials have now confirmed we had the authority to revise the structure, and due process was followed,” said municipal commissioner Vikramaditya Malik.

The revised tax will apply to about 120,000 newly constructed properties and 480,000 existing ones from 1 April 2024.

Tax revisions are carried out every four years, officials said, which means all existing properties will be brought under the new system by 2028.

“New properties will pay under the revised structure. Older properties will shift to the new rates in their scheduled revision year. However, if we find during inspection that a property is under-taxed or its structure has changed, the new rates will apply immediately,” Malik added.

Property tax in Ghaziabad includes three components: house tax (10%), sewage/drainage tax (4%), and water tax (10%).

Annual tax is calculated by multiplying the property’s covered area by the monthly rental value per square foot, and then by 12.

Prior to April 2024, monthly rental values ranged from ₹0.32 to ₹1.61 per sq ft for properties on roads less than 12 metres wide; ₹0.48 to ₹2 for roads 12–24 metres wide; and ₹0.65 to ₹2.41 for wider roads.

The revised values now range from ₹0.75 to ₹3.50; ₹0.75 to ₹3.75; and ₹1 to ₹4, for the respective road widths.

“The new structure will raise household tax by two to 2.5 times. It’s an unfair burden on ordinary citizens. We will oppose this and seek legal recourse if necessary,” said Rajendra Tyagi, former councillor from Raj Nagar.

The deliberations to revise the property tax model started in February, 2021, but it was opposed time and again by councillors and also the corporation board, citing burden on taxpayers.

Recently, in its board meeting in March, the corporation cleared a proposal that redefines the width of the roads as per the Master Plan.

The new proposal said that the width of the road located in front of a property would include the road width, footpath, dividers, central verges, green belts, parking space (if adjacent to the road), service road, drains in between the road, etc.

“The increase in rental values is necessitated as these are less in comparison to other major cities of UP. The new road widths will also be taken into account while calculating the property-tax as per the new structure. Overall, we have about six lakh (600,000) properties under the corporation’s jurisdiction area,” said Sanjeev Sinha, the corporation’s chief tax assessment officer.