Patna, Nov. 27: The state power board and the civic body of the capital are engaged in a duel over outstanding taxes and power tariff.

Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB), which has been gearing up to collect premium power tariff from the state capital residents, has been caught on the wrong foot for non-payment of holding taxes. The civic body has slapped a notice on the board asking it to pay the outstanding taxes amounting to over Rs 200 crore.

BSEB, on the other hand, claims that the civic body owes it Rs 300 crore.

Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pal told The Telegraph that the board had not paid holding taxes to the corporation since 1970.

He said: “There are 227 buildings of the board which include its headquarters on Bailey Road, residential buildings in BSEB Colony, guest houses and others. The board has not paid us taxes for the past 31 years.”

The commissioner added that the notice was issued on November 11. “The board has been asked to clear outstanding bills within 30 days of the notice, failing which, the civic body could take action against it.”

BSEB spokesperson Hareram Pandey said the notice was being examined. “While we are not contradicting what the PMC is saying, their notice is being examined. The truth is that they owe us approximately Rs 300 crore as well. They have not been paying power tariff to us,” he added.

Officials in the PMC, however, said that notice has now been issued under Section 204 of Patna Municipal Act, 1951. If the payment is not cleared within the stipulated time, action could be initiated against Section 405 of the same act.

The recent amendment in Bihar Municipal Act (2007) empowers the civic body to attach the property and to freeze the bank accounts of tax defaulters. The state law department, however, is yet to clear the provisions.

“The clearance is expected in the next three to four days. Once we get the bye-laws approved, we will be in a position to take strict action against BSEB,” Pal said.

Officials said out of total Rs 208.8 crore due, around Rs 87.4 crore is pending against the BSEB headquarters near Income Tax roundabout on Bailey Road.

Sources said the civic agency has pulled up its socks to revive its financial status. To increase revenue, PMC has started to re-assess holdings in the corporation area. Fifty-six teams have been formed to assess the holdings in all four circles — New Capital, Bankipore, Kankerbagh and Patna City.