More than a fourth of taxpayers in New Town have yet to complete the mutation of their properties. But they may now have no option but to complete the process.

The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) has tweaked its payments portal so that owners of non-mutated properties cannot pay property tax.

Sources in the NKDA said there were over 58,000 assessed properties in New Town whose owners are paying property tax. Of them, over 14,500 have yet to complete mutation.

Mutation is a process by which the property ownership records are updated with local authorities.

Since New Town does not have an elected municipal body, the NKDA provides all civic services and functions like the municipal body for the township.

A property tax is levied by a municipal body for the services it provides to residents.

The NKDA authorities are also worried about another section of property owners, who have neither completed the mutation process of their properties nor had their properties assessed to pay the annual property tax.

“We made changes in our payments portal that became effective from last month. Owners cannot pay property tax if they have not completed the mutation of their properties. We are trying to push people towards completing their mutation,” said a senior NKDA official.

Sources in the NKDA said they had received many mutation applications since the change in the portal. “The response has been good so far, and we want people to come forward and complete the mutation process,” he said.

The NKDA, however, has not set a deadline by when owners have to complete the process.

“We may consider sending notices to property owners who do not complete the mutation even after a considerable time,” said the official.

The official added: “Proper mutation benefits residents in many ways — from selling property to applying for loans or availing of services, an updated ownership record is often the first requirement.”

Another NKDA official said that a large number of properties in New Town were second or third properties of the owners. Many of them either live outside Bengal or are residents of the Calcutta municipal area.

“They avoid paying the mutation fees since this is not their first property. But it is a property owner’s duty to complete mutation so the ownership is recorded with the local authorities,” an NKDA official said.

The mutation fee depends on factors like location and the size of the property.