Delhi High Court rejects Khan Market group’s plea for uniform NDMC property-tax assessment

Khan Market shopkeepers and property owners have lost their court bid for a uniform property-tax assessment method across the New Delhi Municipal Council area.

A Delhi High Court bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain rejected the Khan Market Welfare Association’s petition, which argued that different assessment methods for comparable properties had created disparities in rateable values and tax bills. Rateable value is the annual value assigned to a property for calculating municipal property tax.

The court held that deciding the assessment methodology was a statutory and administrative function of NDMC, provided it acts within the law. It said the court could not replace the authority’s formulation with its own.

The association had also asked for an expert committee to examine alleged fraud, irregularities and discrepancies in rateable-value fixation across NDMC’s jurisdiction. The bench declined that request too, saying the petition did not identify a statutory duty requiring such a committee.

The ruling concerns properties in NDMC areas including Connaught Place, Khan Market, Golf Links and Pandara Road. It follows NDMC’s unit-area property-tax plan, which may not be introduced this financial year.