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In the past week, a major property tax scam was uncovered in Ahmedabad, affecting more than 1,000 citizens mainly in the city's West Zone. A group of agents allegedly collected cash from property owners over several years, tampered with official records using an AMC employee's login, and falsely cleared dues in the system. As a result, several residents are now receiving backdated bills, some as high as INR 1.59 lakh. The scam is estimated to have caused losses between INR 1.5 crore and INR 2 crore. AMC has not yet taken action against any employees involved or confirmed how much of the fraudulent amount has been recovered.
More than 1,000 residents of Ahmedabad, particularly from the West Zone, recently received sudden and inflated property tax notices for dues supposedly pending from 2017-18 to 2019-20. These residents were shocked because they had already made their payments mostly in cash through agents, who claimed to act on behalf of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Advertisement
An internal investigation by AMC's e-governance team revealed that agents used the login credentials of a West Zone AMC employee to alter the property tax database. Using this access, they manually updated several tax accounts to reflect zero dues, even though payments had not officially been recorded.
This fraudulent setup mainly impacted those who paid in cash and did not insist on receipts. In contrast, payments made via card were automatically logged in the system and remain traceable. Those who paid digitally are now being issued refunds, while the ones who paid in cash are being asked to pay again.
Following the internal audit, the AMC system recalculated dues for several properties and generated fresh notices. Residents are now being billed for past years, with individual demands ranging from INR 21,000 to INR 46,000. In some cases, the amount has gone up to INR 1.59 lakh. These figures are for dues that homeowners believed had already been cleared years ago.
Affected residents who approached AMC's property tax offices have presented their original documents showing zero dues at the time of payment. However, the AMC is not recognizing these earlier clearances unless there is official proof, such as a receipt or card transaction.
Despite the large number of people affected, the AMC has not confirmed the full extent of the fraud. Preliminary estimates suggest the scam could be worth between INR 1.5 crore and INR 2 crore. However, officials have yet to share updates on how much of this money has been recovered or whether any employees have been held accountable.
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