This is surely music to the ears of recession hit businessmen in the city who are yet to pay their property taxes and have their premises sealed by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) tax officials. You can now pay off your property taxes in six instalments.

This is for the first time in many years that AMC has increased the number of instalments from three to six. On paying the first instalment, AMC promises to break the seal and allow functioning from the premises the same day.

Under the current scheme, one would have to pay 15-16 per cent of the due amount for each of the six months. This scheme comes with a rider thoughthe compulsory 18 per cent interest would be levied to each of the six instalments.

"Earlier, the three instalments scheme required that initially 50 per cent of the tax to be paid while the second and third instalment involved paying 25 per cent each. There were several requisitions at our civic centres by tax payers to increase the instalments as they were unable to pay the 50 per cent lumpsome amount this year. One can avail off the scheme on a simple request at respective civic centre," says a senior AMC official.