This invention presents a system and method for the assessment of tax by municipalities. DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART
Municipal tax assessment deals with the task of assessing and collecting property tax from citizens that reside in the jurisdiction of a particular municipality. This process involves various steps. First, the property details and the assessment details have to be amassed in a particular place. Property details might include such information as pertaining to ownership details, location details, occupancy details, building construction type details and utility details. Valuation is performed using these details and tax is assessed on a per-property basis. Further, the municipality has a changing set of parameters to handle, as time progresses. For example, the rate of assessment may vary over time, on a per-slab rate basis. Other variations might arise from owners of property expanding or contracting their existing buildings, a grievance registered with the municipality about a questionable assessment etc. The process as it exists today is largely manual, error-prone and tideous when considering tasks such as recording citizens' input on the assessment process. Further more, a need exists to identify and manage assessed, under-assessed and un-assessed properties, in order to ensure that all citizens pay their taxes for the properties they own.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a municipality tax information system (MITS) that will automate the process of survey, evaluation and assessment, while enabling easier interaction between the governing bodies and the tax-payers. It is another object of this invention to provide a method to incorporate the various stages of assessment, while being mindful of the parameters that are prone to change over time. It is another object of this invention to provide a computer implemented, web-centric system to enable the assessment of tax, in a transparent, user-friendly manner.
By means of the present invention, the departmental procedural and procedural requirements are automated and consequently less error-prone. Resources are optimized to ensure ease of use and fast access to information and data, by all concerned parties. Further, by identifying and managing assessed, under-assessed and un-assessed properties, the municipalities revenue is ensured to be correct. The final goals would include the physical survey of properties, preparation of plans, preparation of block maps, easy retrieval of all relevant information of any registered property, the assessment of tax, the issuance of notices, the details of the taxes paid or to be paid, training personnel to use the MITS system etc. amongst several other goals.
The functional requirements of the system developed within the present invention include:
• Storage, retrieval and maintenance of the valuation and assessment details of properties.
• Quick recovery of assessed taxes
• Generation of reports and notices
• Tools to analyze statistical details of taxes based on customized inputs
This invention is described with respect to the implementation of these functional requirements. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows the Process Flow Diagram for entering Surveyed Details (for Land, Building & Industries)
Figure 2 shows how tax and NRV are calculated Figure 3 shows the issuance of notices Figure 4 shows die registration of an objection Figure 5 shows the hearing and settlement process Figure 6 shows die process of tax collection Figure 7 shows the reports generated
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention has several components to ensure the achievement of all the objectives of easy survey, access, retrieval and analysis. Three of the biggest components of the present invention include:
Date Collection which includes the steps of collecting information about the buildings upon which tax is assessed and the inhabitants of the buildings. Dissimilar to older methods, the data collection method of the present invention provides unique identification of houses by incorporating such parameters as name, area, zone, colony, adjacent owners etc. There are discrepancies which arise when inhabitants provide varying information during different census efforts. The nature of the data being collected is not limited to details of the taxable property alone.
Change Analysis, which evaluates the changes that have taken place in the property. Examples of these changes include the modification of new residential portions, changes made to the old residential portions, the addition of commercial portions etc.
Transparent, user-friendly, tax-assessment system (MTTS), which includes electronic storage, retrieval and modification of survey data, analysis and assessment of tax figures and web enablement. The web-enabled portion of the tax assessment system lays the basis for a transparent system where both the policy-makers and the tax-payers have access to a public forum for the exchange of information on assessment, the registration of grievances on the assessment and ultimately the actual payment of taxes. Using computers to generate the NRV by using percentages proposed by the government, tax is assessed on a per-property basis. The tax¬payers have access to the system and can find out how much tax arrears exist, what parameters were used to calculate the tax etc. Zone-wise collection of tax and analysis of fraud and tax- collection etc. is enabled for the municipality, through this system. The tax-payers have access to an Internet gateway as a one-stop solution for paying their taxes.
The process of creating MTTS involves the execution of the steps of software development, data entry of old and new properties, linking old and new properties and issuing notices at the right time, to the concerned parties, assessing and collecting taxes and making allowances for tax¬payers to interact with the system.
Figure 1 shows the Process Flow Diagram for entering Surveyed Details (for Land, Buildings and Industries). The various steps are represented in the diagram. The request for assessment 2 is used to update die manual inward log 1 and is passed on to the valuation officer 3 for processing. The valuation officer then goes on to conduct a field inspection 4 which results in the data entry of the assessment 7.This step of data entry of the assessment 7 could also be reached by a survey 5 which results in the valuation officer 6 performing data entry of the assessment There is a two- way exchange between the data entry of the assessment 7 and input on the Location or Property plan 8. Both the data entry of the assessment 7 and the input on the location or property plan 8 provide input to the property assessment storage tables 10. In a computation boundary requiring higher authentication 11, the approval of the tax assessor is sought 12 which upon being approved 14 leads to tax collection 15 or alternatively rejected 16 by the tax assessor.
Figure 2 shows how tax and NRV are calculated. From the stage of assessment, a decision is made about whether or not the property is newly assessed 21. If so, then, using slab rates 22 for NRV and dimensional data, usage data and construction type 29 as input, the actual calculation is carried out by the validation office 23. Concurrendy, if any mutation has occurred 34, die NRV calculation 23 is revisited. If no mutation or changes to the property have occurred, then the NRV and tax-calculation details are already available since it was previously assessed 39 and the process ends.
Based on whether the property is Municipal Corporation-owned 24 en* government owned 25 or an open plot or industrial site 26, tax calculation is carried out according to the slab rates for Municipal Corporation owned properties 30 or government-owned properties 31 or industrial/open site rates 32. If the property under consideration is none of these, then a check is made to see if the property is legal 27. If so, another check is made to see if the property is residential or non-residential 33 and accordingly, slab rates are calculated and applied 36,37. If the property is found to be illegal, the tax is calculated according to slab rates available for both residential and non-residential properties only in the case of a new assessment 28. After this calculation of taxes 28,30,31,32^37, the NRV and Tax calculation tables are updated 35. Tins could further lead to an issue of special notices 40 or an updation of the assessment list and if no objection is raised in a period of fifteen days, the summary register.
Figure 3 shows the issuance of notices. From the tax calculation stage, the tax calculation sheet 51 is used to determine if the property has passed die hearing 53. If so, there is an issue of a revised notice 52. If not, there is a determination of whether the property is legal 54. If the property is legal, there is an issuance of a special notice #1 55. If the property is not legal, there is an issuance of a special notice #2 59. There also exists a calculation sheet 56 which is a document for the internal filing system 60. The calculation sheet 56, along with the special notice #1 57 and special notice #2 58, which are notices for information purposes for the owners 62, are used by the tax assessor 61 in validating the assessment If the assessment is approved 64, there is an issuance of special or revised notices 66 which simultaneously updates the report log table 65, generated when die property is not legal. If there is an objection raised within fifteen days 67, the process proceeds to appeal and settlements. There is a revised notice after settlement 62, which is also used by the tax assessor in making the approval. If not, the tax is billed to the customer. If the assessment is rejected 63 there is a report log table 65 which is updated. All the notices issued 52, 53, 59, 62 and the tax calculation sheet 51 are used to update the report log table 50, generated when the property is legal.
Figure 4 shows the registration of an objection. After he issue of special notices 70, there is an application for objection 71. This is processed by a tax assessor 72 and entered in the objection register 73. This is in turn used to update the objection table 75. The entry in the objection register is followed by a field verification 74 and then a check to see if the objection is valid 76. If the objection is valid, a hearing notice 79 is issued. If the objection is not valid, the tax is billed and collected. When a hearing notice is issued, the report log tables 78 are updated. The nature of the objections is based on criteria listed in 77.
Figure 5 shows the hearing and settlement process. The appeal for objection is followed by a face-to-face hearing with the tax assessor 80. This is followed by a check to see if a settlement done 81. If the settlement has been done, there is a modification of assessment data 83 which is used to update the hearing tables 82. There is further a process flow for data capture for property assessment 84.
Figure 6 shows the process of tax collection. After the issue of a special notice, information is sent to the zonal office to be entered in the summary register 90. A tax bill is issued 91 which is also entered in the report log tables 93. A check to see if the tax is paid within thirty days is performed 92. If the tax has not been paid, a demand notice is issued 95 and entered in the payment tables 94. Another check to see if the tax is paid within the next fifteen days from the issue of the demand notice is made 96. If not, an attachment notice is issued 97, which also finds an entry in the payment tables 94. After the lapse of another fifteen days, another check to see if the taxes have been paid, is made 100. If not, the movable properties are seized 103. A final check to see if the taxes have been paid before the 31" of March, is performed 107. If not, the movable properties which were seized 103 are auctioned 109. Following the seizing and auction of movable properties, the payment tables 104 are updated. On the checks to see if the taxes have been paid 96,100,107, if outcome states that the taxes have been paid, there is a check to see if the payment was made by cash or demand draft 98. If the payment was made by cash, a cash receipt is issued 99, if not a cheque receipt is issued 101, followed by a cheque realization 105 by the head office. If die check was realized a receipt is issued 106, if not, there is an intimation of three days 110. Upon issue of the receipts, an entry is eventually made in the payment tables 102. After the issue of the receipt 100, or the intimation 110, the process ends 111.
Figure 7 shows the reports generated, tabulated with the relevant document tides associated with the reports and a brief description about each report

WE CLAIM
1. A transparent and user-friendly tax-assessment system for one or more properties providing interactive access for policy-makers and tax-payers with interconnected storage and retrieval mechanisms alongside a valuation officer, a tax-assessor and a tax-payer comprising:
a. Means for data-collection wherein surveyed details for land, buildings and industries are collected and stored for analysis
b. Means for analyzing change wherein NRV and tax-collection tables are updated such that changes to a property are summarized by evaluating the differences in the older data and the newer data;
c. Means for tax-assessment wherein the legality and the tax-rates are assessed, the taxes calculated, objections handled, hearings and settlements processed, tax-bills and receipts thereof are issued and reports are generated for various stages in the process; and
d. Means for tax-collection.
2. A system of claim 1 wherein the means for data-collection identifies properties uniquely by incorporating parameters including name, area, zone, colony and adjacent owners, further comprising:
a. Information collected by a valuation officer upon a field inspection of the property on which tax is to be assessed;
b. A two-way exchange between data entry of the inspection or assessment and input to a Location or Property plan;
c. Input from the assessment and input from the Location or Property plant being input to a property assessment storage table; and
d. Obtaining approval from one or more tax-assessors to assess tax on the property.
3. A system of claim 1 wherein the property could be municipal-corporation owned, government owned, an open plot, industrial site, residential property or non¬residential property, according to which different slab rates are assigned.
4. A system of claim 1 wherein the means for analyzing changes to a property utilize the category assigned to the property (in claim 3), recognizing changes including modification of new residential portions, changes made to old residential portion and the addition of commercial portions, to update the NRV and tax-calculation tables such that:
a. Special notices are issued upon finding changes to the properties;
b. An assessment list is updated; and
c. A summary register is updated pending no objections in a fifteen-day period.
5. A system of claim 1 wherein the mean to assess taxes further comprises:
a. Means to use a tax-calculation sheet to determine if a property has passed a hearing and:
i. if so, means to issue a special notice #1; and
ii. if not means to establish if the property is legal to issue a special notice #2.
b. Means for the tax-assessor to validate the assessment by utilizing special notices #1 and #2;
c. Means to issue special or revised notices, if the assessment is approved, simultaneously updating a report log table generated when the legality of the property is established;
d. Means to proceed to appeal and settlements in the case of an objection being raised within the requisite time-period;
e. Means to issue a revised notice after a settlement;
f. Means to update a report log table when an assessment is rejected; and
g. Means to issue notices along with a tax-calculation sheet, using both to update the report log table.
6. A system of claim 1 wherein processing an objection comprises:
a. Processing an application for an objection based on pre-specified criteria being met;
b. Updating an objection register to reflect the objection application;
c. Updating an objection table to reflect the objection application;
d. Field Verification to validate the objection;
i. If the objection is found valid, issuing a hearing notice; and
ii. If the objection is found invalid, billing the tax and collecting the same; and
e. Upon a hearing notice being issued, reporting the log tables.
7. A system of claim 1 wherein the hearing and settlement process comprises:
a. An appeal for objection;
b. A face-to-face hearing with a tax-assessor,
c. A check to see if the settlement is done such that:
i. If the settlement has been done, modifying the assessment data that is used to update the hearing tables; and
d. Capturing the data utilized in property assessment.
8. A system of claim 1 wherein the means for tax-collection comprises:
a. Means to issue special notices for tax-collection after the property's parameters have been established;
b. Means to send the information to a zonal office for entry in a summary register,
c. Means to check if the tax is paid within a prescribed time-frame;
i. If the tax has not been paid, means to issue a demand notice and update the same in the payment tables; and
ii. Means to check if the tax has been paid within a second prescribed time-frame, distant from the time-frame in .c. such that:
1. If the tax has still not been paid, means to issue an attachment notice and entering the same in the payment tables; and
2. Means to check if the tax has been paid within a third prescribed time-frame, distant from the time-frame in .c. (ii) such that:
a. If the tax has still not been paid, means to seize all movable properties;
b. Means to auction the seized properties is the tax stands unpaid by the end of the financial year; and
c. Updating the payment tables.
d. If the taxes have been paid, means to check if the payment was made by cash or demand draft;
i. If the payment was made by cash, means to issue a cash-receipt; and
ii. If the payment was made by demand draft:
1. Means to issue a check receipt; and
2. Means to realize the check via a head office such that:
a. If the check is not realized within a prescribed time, means to process an intimation. 9. A system of claim 1 wherein means to generate reports utilize tender documents and other template documents collected from the assessment offices, including reports such as:
a. Tax calculation sheets;
b. Special Notices;
c. Open Plot Notices;
d. Revised Notices;
e. Revised Open Plot Notices;
f. Assessed Tax Reports;
g. Periodic list of defaulters;
h. Selective list of defaulters;
i. Assessment list registers; j. Summary registers;
k. Objection registers; 1. Demand registers; m. Outstanding lists; n. Tax bills; o. Demand notices; p. Daily collective scrolls;
q. Tax collectors performance registers; and
r. Hearing notices.
10. A transparent and user-friendly tax-assessment method for one or more properties providing interactive access for policy-makers and tax-payers with interconnected storage and retrieval mechanisms alongside a valuation officer, a tax-assessor and a tax-payer comprising the steps of:
Data-collection wherein surveyed details for land, buildings and industries are collected and stored for analysis
Change analysis wherein NRV and tax-collection tables are updated such that changes to a property are summarized by evaluating the differences in the older data and the newer data;
Tax-assessment wherein the legality and the tax-rates are assessed, the taxes calculated, objections handled, hearings and settlements processed, tax-bills and receipts thereof are issued and reports are generated for various stages in the process; and