More than Rs 30 crore, by way of disputed house tax collected over a period of time, is lying unadjusted and idle in the miscellaneous deposit account, popularly known as the suspense account, of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC).

Partially recovered or collected property tax is deposited in the suspense account since part payments do not mean “full discharge of liability” on the part of a house-owner.

As money deposited in the suspense account is not shown in the premises ledger for the collection of property tax, the assessment department goes on calculating interest and penalty even over the amount deposited as part of property tax.

The civic authorities recently prepared a list of 67 big defaulters to disconnect their water supply, as their owners had not paid property tax dues for a long time.

The dues from these premises range between Rs 5.6 lakh and Rs 5.5 crore. The water supply department is often discomfited when it is discovered while disconnecting water supply to a premise that the total amount of interest and penalty claimed by the CMC has been miscalculated.

In most cases, house-owners had already made payments up to 30 to 40 per cent of the principal years ago, but interest and penalty have been imposed even on that amount.

Since the CMC Act of 1980 allows exemption of interest on property tax only after getting special permission from the state government, neither the mayor nor the municipal commissioner can accept outstanding payment of property tax without interest.

This inability of the mayor and the municipal commissioner has made matters worse for house-owners who have already made deposits in the suspense account.

Hence, once the assessment department raises an outstanding demand notice against a premise and charges interest and penalty on the principal amount, ignoring the amount already deposited in the suspense account, the house-owner has no alternative but to pay up with interest to avert disconnection of water supply.

Last Wednesday, when officers from the water supply department went to cut off supply to four premises in north Calcutta, two house-owners said they had already made part payment in the suspense account.

They demanded that the civic officials deduct the amount of interest charged on the amount paid and accept the balance outstanding amount with interest.