Bhubaneswar, July 24: The office of the Accountant General (AG), which keeps an eye on government accounts and is prompt to point out acts of violation, has failed to pay holding tax to the municipal corporation this year.

However, the AG’s office it not the sole defaulter, it has for company institutions such as commissionerate police or the law keepers for Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

While the AG’s office needs to clear Rs 13.22 lakh in holding tax, the commissionerate police owe Rs 12.39 lakh to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on the same count. The BMC rule enjoins advance payment of holding tax by March 31 every year.

These two institutions are among the 100-odd violators to have defaulted on holding tax payment to the civic body with their cumulative arrears running into Rs 20.34 crore. The BMC assesses 322 office buildings owned by the government, corporate and other private entities for holding tax.

Among other major violators are the heads of department building (Naatala), office buildings of executive engineers under the public works department, lift irrigation corporation building, Food Corporation of India, public health organisation and Hi-tech Medical College and Hospital. Some central school units, universities, a hospital and a hotel also feature in the list.

Apart from the institutional buildings, there are 85,000 houses in the city that BMC assess for holding tax. However, another 40,000 are yet to be brought under the tax net. Annually, the BMC is able to collect Rs 20-22 crore as holding tax.

“We hope to get Rs 40-45 crore this year from holding tax as more houses will be added to the list. Moreover, we have formed six teams to carry out random check and surprise raids on premises assessed as residential type, but actually being used for commercial purposes. The officials will give their reports within two weeks time,’’ said BMC additional commissioner Krushna Prasad Pati.

Sources said officials were assigned major areas such as Saheed Nagar, Kharavela Nagar, Phulnakhara along NH-5, Nayapalli, Jayadev Vihar, Bapuji Nagar, Ashok Nagar and both sides of Cuttack Road as major holding tax violations gets reported from these areas.

The BMC is planning to make holding tax collection online tentatively by the end of August. Once that happens, no new holding assessment can be done or paid manually. Only old or pending cases can be done manually after that.

“The online format will provide more transparency to the entire tax collection mechanism and will do away with the alleged manipulations done by tax collectors or officials. On the other hand, people can have the comfort to make payment from their homes, once it is through,’’ said a senior BMC official.

The civic body has started thinking seriously on ways to augment the holding tax front as it accounts for the bulk of its annual revenue.

Municipal commissioner Krishan Kumar said: “We have written to the state government to give power to the recovery officer in the BMC to file certificate cases under the Odisha Public Demand Recovery (OPDR) Act. If it is passed, the official will have the power to file cases so that the organisations not honouring our demands as per rules will be compelled to pay immediately.’’

Sources said, if a certificate case was filed under OPDR Act, then the person or organisation might run the risk of seizure of bank accounts and payment of interest till the dues were cleared.