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Contact Address: Chakuvayil House p.c kavala p.o paippad, chry 686537

Brief Description on Grievance: Dear Sir, I am writing this letter to appeal the current building tax on my house located at house no.119 under ward no 11, which falls within Paippad Panchayat under Changanacherry Taluk. I am a resident of the mentioned house and currently work as an Assistant Professor at St. Berchmans College, Changanacherry.The house in question is more than 65 years old and was originally built by my grandfather between 1952 and 1956. Following his passing in 2000, earlier one Pokkuvarvau was done and possession of the land was transferred to my family members, including myself, my mother, and two brothers. Unfortunately, my father, who was also a co-owner, passed away in 2021. At present the total area of the building, including the concrete area, roof tiles area, and the Aspectos sheet area attached to Kitchen, is approximately 1860 sq.ft. In 2016, an additional room measuring around 187 sq.ft. was added to the building as an extension. The Panchayat authorities conducted a reassessment of the building in 2016, subsequently increasing the tax from ₹208 to ₹1446 with retrospective effect from 2013. While we had paid the tax at the rate of ₹208 for the period from 2013 to 2015, the authorities collected ₹3714 as arrears due to the difference in tax for those three years. Additionally, I would like to seek clarification regarding the change of ownership fee. The mutation (Pokkuvaravu) of the land, removing my father's name from the inheritors list, was completed on 28th March 2023. We submitted an application for the change in ownership from my grandfather to myself, my mother, and two brothers at the Panchayat office on 3rd April 2023. According to the rules, no fee should be collected if the application for changing ownership is submitted within three months of the date of land mutation. However, we were charged a fine amount of ₹500. I kindly request clarification on whether there is an additional clause or rule that justifies this charge. I strongly believe that the unilateral decision to increase my building tax without giving us an opportunity to present our case is unjust and illegal. Therefore, I humbly request your intervention in this matter to resolve the issue with due consideration. I kindly urge you to instruct the authorities to reduce the tax amount by considering both the age and area of my building and refund the excess tax collected from us since 2013 onwards. We have already raised an appeal against the age of my building in their records, however they are saying that they will consider a renovated building as a newly constructed one only without considering its actual age and calculate tax for old building equivalent to new constructed building. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to a prompt and favorable resolution. Enclosed herewith are supporting documents on this matter for your information.

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