KUCHING: The Kuching South City Council (MBKS) has so far collected about RM25 million in assessment rates for the first half of this year.
A council spokesperson told The Borneo Post that the amount made up about 45 per cent of total assessment rates for the first half of the year, of which the deadline for settlement is today.
“Like every year, the collection will increase as May 31 approaches. This 45 per cent (of total collection) is just an estimate because many ratepayers settle their bills at the post office.
“We have not obtained the data from the post office yet, but we believe the estimated collection would reach about 50 per cent come May 31.”
The MBKS spokesperson also said residential holdings with annual rates of RM700 and below would still be given the reduction in rates – an exercise that took effect on Jan 1 last year.
“Thus, MBKS advises them to quickly settle the current rates and any outstanding amount.”
Property owners who fail to settle their assessment rate bills before or by tomorrow would be subject to a surcharge at one per cent per month, or part thereof on the outstanding amount.
“On no account will consideration be given to waive the surcharge on the ground of non-receipt of the assessment bills.
“Any ratepayer who wishes to request for copies of the bill should come to the One-Stop Service Counter on the ground floor, or the Rating and Valuation Division on the second floor of MBKS at Jalan Padungan here, or the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) Kuching at Jalan Bukit Mata,” the MBKS spokesperson said.
It is learned that MBKS opened its service counter last weekend to facilitate settlements of assessment rates.
Apart from that, a box is placed at the information counter for the depositing of cheques, while two extra payment counters have also been opened to accommodate the ratepayers.
Banners with the message that reminds the public about the due date for payment of assessment rates, are also being displayed at selected locations across the city.
According to MBKS, the payments can be made with cash, cheques, as well as money or postal orders made payable to ‘Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan’.
Besides MBKS, UTC Kuching and Pos Malaysia, ratepayers can also settle their bills at counters set up at Syarikat Sesco Bhd, Kuching Water Board, Kuching North City Commission (DBKU), Padawan Municipal Council (MPP), any Pos Mini outlet and Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN).
Ratepayers wishing to avoid long queues at the counters can also pay via www.paybillsmalaysia.com, or Internet banking through CIMB Bank Bhd, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd (Bank Rakyat), BSN, Bank Islam, Public Bank Bhd, or JomPAY.
On Sunday, Assistant Minister of Local Government Datu Dr Penguang Manggil urged property owners to pay their assessment rate bills for the first half of the year on time to avoid being slapped with the surcharge for late settlements.
He added that some councils might be able to collect up to 90 per cent of their total assessment rates, while others could manage as low as 50 per cent.