NDMC’s unit-area property tax plan may miss this financial year

Property-tax bills running into lakhs have reached traders in Lutyens’ Delhi markets, while NDMC’s proposed unit-area method is unlikely to begin this financial year.

Sanjiv Mehra, president of the Khan Market Traders’ Association, said market properties continue to be assessed on annual expected rental value even though most other NDMC areas receive bills under the unit-area method. Vikram Badhwar, general secretary of the New Delhi Traders Association, said Connaught Place traders were concerned about the high demands.

The proposed bye-laws are awaiting Union home ministry approval, followed by gazette notification. After that, NDMC plans to form a committee to finalise the calculation matrix, an official said.

Under the proposed system, tax assessments would no longer depend on expected rental income or market rent, which can vary within the same colony. NDMC had earlier said the change could reduce the highest property-tax slab from 30% to 20%; rates are expected to range from 10% to 20% of a property’s annual value.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 amended the NDMC Act, 1994, making the shift possible after earlier attempts were constrained by the law’s annual-rent basis. For now, traders await a notified framework and a timeline for revised bills.