Bengaluru civic body uses AI voice calls to recover Rs 35.1 crore in property tax dues

Fresh updates from the financial markets indicate that Bengaluru West City Corporation has turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to reach property owners with pending property tax dues, using automated voice calls twice a day to inform them around their outstanding amounts and explain how they can make payments online.

The initiative was rolled out after the civic body found that several property owners were unaware of their exact tax dues, the period from which the arrears had accumulated and the process for making payments online.

Between March and June, the corporation's AI voice agent made 4.54 lakh calls across 64 wards of the erstwhile 198-ward civic system. The calls successfully touched 59,604 property owners and provided information in Kannada.

AI calls help identify taxpayers willing to pay

The automated calls informed property owners around their pending tax amount, the period for which the dues were outstanding and the process for making online payments.

Following the campaign, 26,962 property owners agreed to pay their dues, potentially helping the corporation recover arrears worth Rs 35.1 crore.

Of those contacted, 10,303 property owners provided a specific date by which they intended to make the payment, while another 5,747 stated they would pay their dues soon.

AI reduces burden on civic officials

The corporation stated reaching out to thousands of tax defaulters manually would have placed a significant burden on its topline machinery. Making lakhs of calls during a single tax cycle would have required a large call-centre operation and could have diverted Assistant Topline Officers (AROs) from survey and field-level recovery work.

By using AI for the initial outreach, officials were able to focus on cases that required direct intervention, the corporation stated.

The exercise additionally helped the civic body identify errors in its property tax records. As many as 17,314 inactive phone numbers and 6,315 numbers belonging to former property owners were identified, allowing the records to be updated.

The campaign additionally established that 4,577 properties had no outstanding dues, preventing these property owners from receiving unnecessary recovery communications.

Bengaluru startup develops AI solution

The technology was developed by Bengaluru-based startup VocalLabs, founded by IIT Madras alumni Nilesh Kumar, Mrityunjay Das and Rag Sanil.

According to the corporation, the startup developed the solution to address civic topline collection challenges while adapting the AI voice system to local language requirements.

“Even though we knew who the defaulters were, we needed technological assistance to speak with them individually, persuasively and in their own language within a single tax cycle. That is now possible,” stated Rajendra KV, Commissioner of Bengaluru West City Corporation.

“A demand notice merely provides information to a citizen, but a conversation persuades them. An important insight we gathered from many property owners is that most defaulters were unaware of how much tax was pending or how simply it could now be paid online. Now, such taxpayers will benefit through our new system,” he further noted.

Corporation cautions taxpayers against fraud

The civic body has additionally cautioned property owners against fraudulent calls seeking payments or sensitive financial information.

The corporation stated it will never ask taxpayers to make payments over the phone or seek OTPs, card numbers, UPI PINs or bank details during a call.

Property owners with pending dues have been advised to make payments only through the official Karnataka property tax portal or at the Ward or Assistant Topline Officer's office in their respective jurisdiction.

The corporation stated the AI-based outreach is aimed at making tax recovery more efficient while ensuring that genuine taxpayers are provided with clear information around their dues and payment options.