8% rebate fuels April surge; NMC collects 76cr property tax

Nashik: The Nashik Municipal Corporation's (NMC) early-payment incentive appears to be paying off, with the civic body collecting Rs76.19 crore in property tax in April. This was a 61.71% increase from Rs49.99 crore in the same period last year.The surge follows the rollout of an 8% rebate for taxpayers clearing their annual dues in one instalment within the first month of the financial year.Civic officials said, "Around 1.55 lakh property owners availed the scheme in April, collectively receiving rebates worth Rs4 crore. The robust response has boosted the administration's confidence in achieving its property tax target for the current financial year.The NMC has set an ambitious collection target of Rs285 crore for 2026–27, higher than last year's record-breaking Rs187 crore — the highest ever since the civic body's establishment 43 years ago.Officials said, "The tiered rebate structure, which is 8% in April, 6% in May and 3% in June, along with an additional 1% concession for online payments, has been designed to encourage timely compliance and improve cash flow early in the fiscal."Among the six municipal divisions, Cidco recorded the highest collection at Rs14.95 crore, followed closely by Nashik West at Rs14.24 crore, Nashik Road at Rs13.32 crore and Panchavati at Rs12.95 crore. The remaining tax collections came from Satpur and Nashik East divisions.The civic body is also banking on structural reforms to sustain growth in revenues. Officials said efforts are underway to identify under-assessed and unassessed properties and bring them into the tax net. Nashik currently has around 6.22 lakh registered properties across its six divisions, with Panchavati and Cidco together accounting for nearly 48% of the total base.Cidco, in particular, has witnessed rapid expansion, with the number of properties rising by 54% from 97,517 in 2017–18 to nearly 1.49 lakh in 2025–26.