MCD Property Tax Portal Glitches Delay Payments for Chandni Chowk Taxpayers
Property owners and traders in Chandni Chowk faced severe difficulties paying their property taxes and claiming advance payment rebates due to technical glitches and new requirements on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) portal. The disruptions occurred in late June, immediately ahead of the June 30 deadline to claim a rebate on advance property tax payments for the 2026-27 period.
A major hurdle for taxpayers was the unannounced introduction of a mandatory feature requiring users to enter their electricity meter consumer number to proceed with the payment. Atul Goyal of the United Residents Joint Action (URJA) stated that while the step itself was welcome, the civic body should have informed residents in advance. The lack of prior public intimation left remote property owners and landlords of tenanted properties struggling to find the required consumer numbers.
In response, MCD officials stated that the feature was designed to verify whether commercial properties were being taxed at residential rates during self-assessment. Officials argued that because residents receive electricity bills through messages or email, entering the consumer number should not pose a problem.
In addition to the new requirement, users reported that the portal became extremely slow due to heavy traffic. MCD officials attributed the slow speed to the last-minute rush of taxpayers attempting to beat the deadline and stated that assistance was being provided to resolve the issues.
Local traders in Chandni Chowk also encountered specific integration issues on the portal. Sanjay Bhargava, a trader from Chandni Chowk, noted that the provision allowing traders to pay only 15% of their property tax as a General Trade Licence (GTL) fee was only integrated into the portal this month. Bhargava raised concerns for those who had already paid the fee at a higher rate before the integration, questioning if they would receive a refund.
Similar portal errors were reported by traders in Kamla Nagar, who alleged that the system was calculating GTL fees based on the tax of entire buildings rather than just the commercial portions of mixed-use properties.
