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Bandra home for cancer patients gets Bombay High Court relief in property tax dispute

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The Bombay High Court on Wednesday temporarily stopped the recovery of property tax by the civic body from a charitable organisation that houses terminally ill cancer patients in Bandra.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sonak stayed the notices issued to Shanti Avedna Sadan. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had directed the Sadan to pay Rs 12.40 lakh per annum as property tax.

The court granted the relief after accepting the Sadan's contention that it is used purely for charitable purposes – for giving palliative care to terminally ill indigent, needy cancer patients free of costs.

The Sadan had approached the HC, challenging BMC's decision of May 2013 to enhance value of its property from Rs95.77 crore to Rs146.35 crore and accordingly arriving at the new property tax figure of Rs6.20 lakh, payable every six months.

The civic body had asked the organisation to pay property tax at revised rates from April 2010. Counsel Aspi Chinoy, appearing for the Sadan, said that civic officials had fixed the value of the care centre on the basis of ready reckoner rates for ordinary commercial properties on Mount Mary Road in Bandra, after the new property tax regime was introduced by the BMC last year.

Terming the valuation by BMC arbitrary and irrational, Chinoy said the state government has allotted the land to the Bandra home on a lease rent of Re1 a year. By taking into consideration the charitable work done by the Sadan even the BMC has exempted it from the payment of general tax, municipal education cess, employment generation cess, street tax, etc, said Chinoy.

Adjourning the hearing on the plea, the HC directed the corporation to file its reply. It also restrained the civic body from from demanding or recovering the property tax at the new rates till then.

The court though has directed Bandra home to continue to pay Rs 4.93 lakh a year towards other civic taxes like water and sewerage benefit taxes and tree cess.

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