Facing strong opposition from residents over sharply increased property tax demands, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has suspended its recent revision of property tax assessments for properties identified as under-assessed. The decision follows a wave of petitions and representations from property owners who questioned the revised tax demands issued in recent days. Under the decision, the property tax for the affected assessments will be restored to the amount applicable before the revision. The reassessment drive covered nearly 3.5 lakh properties out of around 14 lakh properties in the city. In several cases, residents reportedly received revised demands that were significantly higher than their previous tax bills, with some increases reaching nearly 400%. The sudden increase triggered concerns among residents, particularly from property owners who said they had not made any major additions or alterations to their buildings. They also questioned the clarity of the reassessment process and the requirement to pay the revised amount while seeking reconsideration. Residents who have already paid the reassessed property tax will not lose the additional amount. The excess payment will be adjusted as advance payment towards property tax dues for subsequent half-year periods. According to the civic body, around 30,520 property owners had paid the reassessed tax, generating approximately Rs 11.1 crore in collections as of Thursday. The corporation's reassessment exercise was undertaken to identify properties where the existing tax assessment was considered lower than the applicable level. The drive used GIS and satellite-based mapping to identify discrepancies in property records. The exercise was expected to bring under-assessed properties into the tax system and generate additional revenue for the civic body. The corporation had estimated that correcting such assessments could generate around Rs 83 crore in additional revenue, in addition to its existing property tax demand of approximately Rs 2,450 crore. The reassessment also came under criticism over the absence of adequate communication and concerns about properties being reassessed despite residents claiming there were no significant changes to their buildings. The controversy has now prompted the civic body to suspend the revised assessments and restore the earlier tax amounts for the affected properties. The move is expected to provide temporary relief to thousands of property owners while the corporation reviews the representations and reassessment process.