Agra Municipal Corp. Imposes Over Rs 1 Cr Tax on Taj Mahal

Agra: The Agra Municipal Corporation has issued a notice to the Taj Mahal to collect Rs 1 crore as water tax and Rs 1.47 lakh as property tax. The notice also includes interest on the non-payment of taxes in the past.

After receiving the notice, the authorities of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) that looks after the Taj Mahal said, such taxes are not applicable to historical monuments.

According to the ASI, such exemption of taxes for historical monuments is mentioned in the UP Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Preservation Act.

Itmad-ud-Daulah, another ASI-protected heritage monument also received a similar tax collection notice from the Agra Municipal Corporation.

Taj Mahal was declared a protected monument in 1920. Since then ASI has never received any notice for house tax from the local urban body. Even the British government never brought the Taj Mahal under house tax.