BRUNEI-MUARA – Property owners or tenants of properties located within district municipal areas can now pay their property taxes online.
In a bid to prevent payment backlog and reduce the amount of property tax arrears, the Municipal Department has begun offering online payment via the Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) and Baiduri Bank websites and mobile applications.
“One of the factors that may cause payment arrears is the hassle of going to the counters. We hope that by going online, we can reduce arrears in property tax payments and help increase government revenue,” Municipal officer Hjh Rasidah Hj Ghani said in an interview.
Although she did not disclose the amount in property tax arrears, she acknowledged that it is a “big amount”.
Asked whether there are plans to set up online payments for others services under Municipal Department, Hjh Rasidah said that their main focus at the moment is on property tax.
“This is because it is the biggest payment arrears under Municipal Department. For our other services, we are waiting for a common-billing system to be implemented and extended by the Treasury Department under Ministry of Finance and Economy to the Municipal Department.
“The system, which is currently in the pipeline, will cover all the taxes, bills and payments under the department’s jurisdiction.”
The counters at respective municipal departments will continue to be operational and payment can be made in cash, credit card or by a crossed cheque.
Property tax is imposed on all lands and buildings situated within any Municipal area of a district. This means all property types, including residential, commercial, industrial and recreational properties are liable to taxation.