Only 1.35 Lakh Pune Properties Eligible For 40% Tax Rebate After Massive Survey; Over 3 Lakh Lose Benefit
Pune, 18th April 2025: In a major setback for thousands of property owners in the city, only 1.35 lakh residential properties will continue to receive the 40% property tax rebate, following a citywide survey conducted by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in August 2024. The survey, which covered approximately 4.5 lakh residential properties, was aimed at identifying eligible properties for the continuation of the rebate.
According to municipal officials, the verification of around 1.5 lakh applications submitted to zonal offices has been completed. Of these, only a fraction were found eligible. Around 1.10 lakh applications were rejected due to issues such as incomplete documentation, inaccurate records, and discrepancies in property tax bills or ownership dates. These disqualifications have led to growing questions about the accuracy and execution of the entire survey process.
The 40% rebate, originally granted to residential properties since 1970, was revoked by the PMC in 2019. However, following public outcry and political pressure, the state government reinstated the concession. Consequently, the rebate was extended to all residential properties during the 2023-24 financial year. It was later announced that from 2024-25 onward, only property owners who submitted a PT-3 form within the designated six-month window would remain eligible for the benefit.
Despite this, lack of awareness among residents led to nearly one lakh property owners missing the deadline, resulting in automatic cancellation of their rebates for 2024-25. The timing of this revocation, coinciding with the run-up to the Assembly elections, sparked renewed political pressure on the PMC to reinstate the rebate. In response, the civic body launched a door-to-door survey in August 2024 to identify properties not already enjoying the rebate.
As part of the initiative, application forms were collected from approximately 4.5 lakh property owners. By 31st March, verification of 3 lakh applications revealed that only 75,000 of those properties were self-occupied by owners, a key criterion for eligibility. A subsequent two-week review of the remaining 1.5 lakh applications determined that just 60,000 more qualified for the rebate.
In total, only 1.35 lakh properties have now been confirmed as eligible for the 40% concession, while the remaining 3.15 lakh properties will permanently lose the benefit. This significant reduction has not only disappointed many homeowners but also intensified scrutiny of the survey process and the overall management of the rebate scheme.
