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Overview

The current version (V1.0) of the Automated Bill Generation System, which has been branded as Bill Genie provides the following capabilities

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Overview

Bill Genie is an automated bill generation system developed on the DIGIT platform for enabling DIGIT platform. It enables citizens to pay property tax in a simple, smooth and transparent Property Tax payment process for the citizens. The application generates the bill of property tax payable based on calendar triggers through a batch process and shares the same with the citizens in advance. The citizens can review the bill and once satisfied can do the payment of the property tax manner.

It is possible for the ULB employees to set calendar triggers to generate bills for the amount of property tax payable. This allows the ULB to share the bills with citizens in advance. Citizens review their bill and pay it online using the payment link shared along with in the bill. 

For propA ‘Self-assessment’ system based on ‘trust and verify’ principle was introduced in 157 ULBs. In this system, citizens shared the details of their property, and the tax calculation was done using the ARV methodology for the tax collection period. A Bill was generated for the Property tax payable and the citizen made the payment to the ULB. This payment created a Property tax record in the system and a unique Property Tax ID is assigned to the property. This ‘Self-assessment’ system has helped to bring 4,43,700 into the property tax record system in DIGIT in a span of 10 months. Additionally ~3,00,000 have been migrated from other IT systems to DIGIT. 

Highlights

  • Apply for provisional (pre-construction) and new (post-construction) Fire NOC
  • Apply for Fire NOC for single as well as multiple buildings
  • Option to adopt different mechanisms for NOC fee calculation based on multiple parameters
  • Provision to select minimum fees according to building usage type and subtype
  • Provision for multiple ULB employee roles such as document verifier, field inspector, approver, etc. and workflows for approval
  • Provision for ULB employees to search for records based on various criteria such as Fire NOC application number, the status of the application, from and to date, etc. 
  • Interactive dashboard displaying Fire NOC application statistics with respect to a particular role in the workflow. This feature is helpful to manage worklist of the Fire NOC applications
  • Provision to view the application history for a Fire NOC for better transparency about the system towards citizens and ULB employees
  • ULBs can set SLAs according to the different stages of the Fire NOC application. The overall process in the system is helpful to deliver timely services to the citizen as well as to measure the performance of ULB employees
  • Fire NOC application can be integrated with other application like Building Plan Approval, Property registry, etc. 
  • Fire NOC application is built according to ontology given in National  Building Code for Building usage types and subtypes

Release Features

Fire NOC

Citizens get email and SMS notifications for pending property tax dues as reminders on or before the due date. Since the bills are provided in advance, citizens get lead time to plan for the finances to pay their tax.The application also allows the ULB to group, merge and download bills for field distribution.

The Bill Genie application makes it effortless for citizens who do not have any changes in their property records, to pay for the services consumed. This layer of citizens is a significant number, allowing ULBs to increase revenue by moving away from “citizen-initiated” to “ULB-initiated” collection drives.

Highlights

  • A batch process executes automatic generation of property tax bills based on a set of calendar triggers 
  • Option to group, merge and download property tax bills for field distribution
  • Provision to send email and SMS reminder alerts to citizens for pending bills on or before the due dates so that they can plan or take action

Application Workflow

The following diagram depicts the application workflow.

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Release Features

Key Feature
Ability to submit Fire NOC application forms as different types of applicantsDescriptionApplicants can submit different types of Fire NOC application forms as different types of applicants. For example, single, multiple, institutional, private and government. Key FeatureOption for submitting application form for provisional and new Fire NOC DescriptionApplicants can submit a request for provisional  Fire NOC for a premise or building at the pre-construction stage. After construction of the premise is completed, the applicants need to apply for new Fire NOC in the system for the same premise.Key FeatureOption for submitting fire NOC for a number of premisesDescriptionApplicants can submit Fire NOC application for single or multiple buildings or premises and they have to furnish appropriate data accordinglyKey FeatureA configurable set of supporting documents DescriptionULBs can define their own set of supporting documents that an applicant needs to submit along with the application form. Key FeatureConfigurable fee calculation mechanism and rate for fees and chargesDescription

States can configure the fee calculation mechanism for a Fire NOC application which is applicable to across ULBs

ULBs can define the rate for fees collected and charges levied for each Fire NOC application. ULBs have a choice to collect fees either as a flat, fixed amount or based on a Unit of Measurement (UoM), building usage, with or without charge slabs, etc. They can also set a minimum charge per applicant. 

Key FeatureConfigurable triggers for notifications, messages, and alertsDescription

ULBs can configure notification, messages and alert triggers as well as the content for each notification to be sent to various stakeholders like Citizen, Field Inspector, Document Verifier, etc.

Key FeatureFlexible Workflow ModelDescription

The application addresses the need for a flexible workflow model for Fire NOC applications. It assigns the tasks at each stage in the workflow of the application form request to individual employees instead of groups. As a result, it is possible to send the form back to an immediately previous state and refer the form for an opinion from other users, as per roles in the workflow.

Key FeatureRole based process workflowDescriptionThe Fire NOC application has a role-based workflow model. Every role in the flow performs specific actions.Key FeatureCapture comments and attach documentsDescription

The application allows users to capture comments and documents for roles in the workflow while processing the NOC application request.

Key FeatureDashboard with application statisticsDescription

The application has a dashboard with statistics showing the number and status of NOC application requests for a given workflow role. This helps manage the task worklist among employees.

Key FeatureApplication request historyDescription

The application provides a view of the NOC request history making the process and progress transparent to all stakeholders.

Key FeatureDownload Fire NOC DescriptionCitizens have the facility to download a copy of the QR code-enabled Fire NOC certificate from the system and use it for further purposes. It reduces the effort of the citizen of coming to ULB to collect the certificate physically.
Description
Generate Property Tax Bills Automatically The Bill Genie application generates property tax bills automatically for properties registered in the property tax system. The application executes this as a batch process from the backend based on financial year and calendar dates as triggers.
Grouping of Property Tax BillsThe ULB employees can group property tax bills based on locality and financial year, leading to an improvement in the efficiency of on-ground distribution of bills.
Merge, Download and Print Property Tax BillsAfter the bills are generated, ULB employees can download and print bills in batches by merging them.
Notification to citizensThe Bill Genie application has an option to send SMS and email reminders to the citizens with the due date and tax amount to be paid. These notifications help citizens plan their finances to pay property tax.

Future Release Features 

The following features are planned for the next release of the Bill Genie application :

  • The citizen notification will include the link to pay property tax and a link to download the payment receipt after payment of tax
  • A user interface for citizens to search and pay property tax 
  • A user interface for ULB employees to generate property tax bills 
  • Availability of triggers for custom notifications to citizens