« General » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Missed reporting foreign assets in ITR? File revised return to avoid Rs 10 lakh penalty  Tax regime shift: Is filing ITR under old regime still valid after default new regime?  Income Tax Department Targets Bogus Refund Claims, Issues Notices To Taxpayers  IT firms bullish on higher spending due to tax cuts  How to calculate capital gains tax on sale of land?  Don't fall for fake notices! How to verify your income tax communication  I decided to shift to the new tax regime. Will I lose benefit on interest income of my PPF account?  Income Tax Return: How to prepare for hassle-free tax compliance? Here is a 10-point checklist  Filing ITR On Your Own? Salaried Taxpayers Need To Know These Things  New vs Old Tax Regime: How is one taxed under the New Regime and how to make a switch between the two regimes?  New tax regime vs old tax regime: What's point at which tax outgo is the same in both regimes? Check salary and deduction levels «  Juniors rejoice over tainted I-T officer's arrest... Draft simplifies property tax calculation... » Now, send a SMS to pay your property tax January, 03rd 2009 For S J Advani, a 50-year-old businessman from Guzdar Bandh in Santa Cruz, paying property tax till last year meant waiting in long queues at the BMCs Bandra ward office. Often, Advani did not make it on time to clear the dues as the Citizen Facilitation Centre (CFC) would shut early. But all that changed from the first day of the new year on Thursday. By sending an SMS to 57575, Advani became the first Mumbaikar to use the BMCs new mobile-based payment scheme. He paid part of his property tax while travelling on a local train. It is just like recharging your pre-paid card, Advani said. The new service, activated from January 1, promises to reach up to 14 lakh citizens. Now, they can buy an ITZ cardwhich acts like a pre-paid mobile card and has a fixed balanceto pay their dues. The next step is to send an SMS to 57575 with ones details, including name and address. This message reaches the BMCs IT control room, following which the user gets a reply, mentioning the pending amount. The user can then make the payment by typing in the transaction number of the ITZ card and the amount. He gets a confirmation message immediately and the receipt for the transaction is couriered to him the same day. We charge only a nominal amount of Rs 20 for the service, joint municipal commissioner V Radha said. A pilot project to test the system was undertaken last year. Users can also lodge a complaint by calling 1916 in case the transaction is not complete. From this year, citizens can also log on to a portal, assess their property tax and obtain birth and death certificates.