Overview
- Dismissing a batch of petitions, the court validated the uniform Use Factor of 10 and a 20% property tax rate on hotels rated three-star and above.
- Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav ruled the star-based classification meets Article 14 as an intelligible differentia with a rational nexus to revenue objectives rooted in economic equity.
- The court applied the doctrine of approbation and reprobation, holding that hotels benefiting from star accreditation cannot repudiate its fiscal consequences.
- Basements, stilts, and other enclosed non-FAR areas will count toward covered space for valuation because such ancillary spaces support a hotel’s functioning and income potential.
- The Municipal Valuation Committee-V process and the MCD’s adoption were found compliant with Sections 116A–116C of the DMC Act, with many petitions coming from erstwhile five-star hotels reclassified in 2022.