India’s iconic Taj Mahal gets water, property tax notices; must be a mistake, says monument’s caretaker body

• Shubham
• 20 December, 2022

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By: Shubham Ghosh

The Taj Mahal, one of India’s iconic tourist attractions, has been slapped with a notice of Rs 1 crore (£99,511) in the form of water tax and Rs 1.47 lakh (£1,463) as property tax by the Agra Municipal Corporation.

The notices were issued to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) which looks after the 17th century ivory-white marble mausoleum which was constructed in the times of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

However, ASI’s superintending archaeologist Raj Kumar Patel said such taxes are not applicable to historical monuments and that the notices were issued by mistake and a reply will be given to all the authorities concerned, India Today reported.

According to Patel, no tax is applicable on the monument since no commercial activity is undertaken in its premises and free facilities are provided to the people. He said that the exemption from such taxes is mentioned in the UP Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Preservation Act. Patel also mentioned about a special provision implemented for the tax exemption in November 2017, the India Today report added.

Expressing shock at the notice, Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber secretary Vishal Sharma said the Taj Mahal is a property of India’s central government and a world heritage monument. It is beyond comprehension why the civic body of Agra served a tax-recovery notice for the monument to the ASI.

He said the mausoleum was declared a protected monument more than a century ago in 1920. This is the first time since then that the ASI has been served a house tax notice for the Taj Mahal.

Sharma said even the British government had never brought the Taj Mahal under house tax, and the Agra mayor should explain why such a notice was issued.

This notice has been issued by the Agra Municipal Corporation to the Archaeological Department, Taj Garden at the Eastern Gate, Taj Mahal.

ASI officials said since the Taj Mahal is a property of the Indian government and the ASI is just a caretaker, the Agra civic body should raise the issue with the government, the report added.

The notice also included interest on the non-payment of taxes in the past.