Chennai's Corporate Giants Among Top Property Tax Defaulters with ₹33.68 Crore Dues
The Greater Chennai Corporation has unveiled its latest list of the top 100 property tax defaulters for the second half of 2025–26, revealing that some of the city's most prominent corporate names owe a staggering ₹33.68 crore in unpaid civic dues. This comprehensive list spans multiple sectors including retail, real estate, and telecommunications, highlighting significant revenue gaps affecting municipal services.
Major Defaulters and Their Outstanding Dues
Leading the list of defaulters is Ceedeeyes Standard Towers Pvt Ltd, which owes ₹2.42 crore in property tax for its premises located on Velachery Main Road. Following closely are Walfs Infra India Pvt Ltd with dues of ₹1.74 crore and Saravana Stores Gold Palace with ₹1.64 crore for its property situated on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, also known as OMR.
Other notable corporate entities featured in the defaulters' list include:
- Madras Race Club properties accounting for over ₹5 crores in unpaid taxes across multiple holdings on Race Course Road
- Mangal Tirth Estates Ltd
- Arihant Retail Pvt Ltd
- Chennaimurasu Pvt Ltd
- Numerous individual property owners with arrears ranging from ₹10 lakh to ₹60 lakh
Geographic Concentration Along Key Commercial Corridors
Many of these defaulting properties are strategically located along Chennai's vital commercial corridors, including:
- Anna Salai
- Purasawalkam High Road
- Greams Road
- Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR)
- Velachery Main Road
This geographic concentration underscores how prime commercial real estate across the city is contributing to the substantial tax arrears problem.
GCC's Transparency Drive and Enforcement Measures
Greater Chennai Corporation officials have stated that the decision to publicly disclose this defaulters' list aims to increase transparency and exert pressure on defaulters to settle their outstanding dues. A senior GCC official emphasized the critical importance of property tax collection, noting that ₹2,200 crores in annual property tax revenue represents a major funding source for essential civic services.
"Property tax worth ₹2,200 crores a year amounts to a major source of revenue for civic services such as roads, stormwater drains and conservancy work, and persistent non-payment affects service delivery," the official explained.
A senior revenue official detailed the enforcement strategy, stating that notices will be reissued to all defaulters with a clear ultimatum: buildings will be locked and sealed after 14 days if payments are not made. The official also noted that some property owners have challenged reassessment decisions through legal channels.
Historical Context: The Unfinished GIS Mapping Project
Six years ago, the Greater Chennai Corporation initiated an ambitious GIS mapping project aimed at reassessing approximately three lakh buildings with structural deviations. This project was projected to generate an additional ₹400 crores in tax revenue, potentially boosting the annual tax target to ₹2,600 crores.
However, progress has been disappointingly slow. Six years into the initiative, GCC has managed to assess only 60,000 buildings, and even among these, most have yet to be levied new tax rates based on the reassessment findings.
Call for Stronger Enforcement Measures
Standing Committee (Accounts) Chairman K Dhanasekaran has called for more aggressive enforcement actions against tax defaulters. He specifically highlighted that top educational institutions in the city are among the biggest defaulters in deviations and urged revenue officials to physically inspect and measure these structures to ensure proper billing.
Dhanasekaran also proposed that Tangedco should cut power connections to properties with outstanding property tax dues, suggesting this would create stronger incentives for compliance among defaulters across all sectors.
The revelation of these substantial tax arrears comes at a critical time for Chennai's municipal administration, which relies heavily on property tax revenue to fund essential infrastructure and services for the growing metropolitan area.
