Special levies with approval, contributions without pressure
A lift replacement, a waterproofing job, a Diwali celebration. Each needs money from members, and each is a different kind of ask. KeyMatrix makes a compulsory levy prove its resolution before it can be billed, and keeps voluntary contributions out of dues altogether.
A special levy is a one-time compulsory charge, usually for major repairs, that most bye-laws allow only after a general body resolution. In KeyMatrix every new charge is drafted by one person and approved by another, a compulsory levy cannot be billed without a passed resolution, and voluntary contributions are sent as requests that never count as dues.
Three kinds of ask, often treated as one
Societies raise money outside the monthly bill in three quite different ways, and most disputes start when one is handled like another. A recurring charge is a new or revised head on every bill, such as a security charge that was not there last year. A special levy is a compulsory, usually one-time charge for something specific: replacing lifts, a structural repair, repainting the building. A contribution is a request for money the member is free to decline, such as a festival collection or a donation to a resident in need.
The first two are dues. Once properly approved, a member owes them and the society can charge interest on late payment within its bye-laws. The third is not, and treating it as a due, by putting it on the bill, adding interest or listing non-payers as defaulters, is a common source of complaints to the registrar.
Recurring charge, levy or contribution
The kind is chosen when the charge is drafted, and everything that follows is decided by it.
| Question | Recurring charge | Special levy | Voluntary contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example | New security head of ₹600 a month | Lift replacement, ₹30,000 per flat | Diwali celebration, ₹1,000 suggested |
| Compulsory | Yes, once approved | Yes, once resolved | No |
| Approval in KeyMatrix | Maker-checker | Maker-checker plus a passed resolution | Maker-checker |
| Appears on the bill | Every cycle | Once, or in instalments | As a separate request |
| Interest if unpaid | Within the bye-law limit | Within the bye-law limit | Never |
| On defaulter lists | Yes | Yes | Never |
From a draft to a raised bill
Every new charge passes through the same four stages. The point is that no single person can create a due and bill it.
What a compulsory levy has to prove
Maker-checker approval
Separating the person who drafts a charge from the person who approves it is a basic financial control, and it is the one most often missing in a society where the secretary sets up the billing sheet alone. In KeyMatrix the separation is enforced rather than recommended: the approve button is not available to the drafter.
A rejected charge keeps its note, so the next draft can address it, and the history of who drafted, submitted and approved each charge stays on the charge.
Levies need a resolution
Most bye-laws allow a compulsory one-time levy only when the general body has resolved it, often with the amount, the purpose and the basis of sharing. KeyMatrix will not approve a special levy unless it is linked to a resolution recorded as passed. Where the resolution was passed at a meeting held outside KeyMatrix, the paper reference, meaning meeting date and resolution number, is recorded instead.
The link runs both ways. The resolution shows every charge that cites it, so a member asking what authorised a levy gets an answer from the resolution register rather than a search through old minutes.
Recurring or one-time charges, applied to the right units
A charge can apply to every unit or be filtered by unit type, tower and occupancy. A levy for one tower’s lifts applies to that tower; a charge for tenanted flats applies only where the unit is let. The filter is part of what gets approved, so the scope cannot widen after approval.
Working out a lift-replacement levy
Take a 120-flat society that resolves to replace four lifts at a cost of ₹36 lakh. Shared equally, that is ₹30,000 a flat. Shared by carpet area across 1,08,000 sq ft, it is about ₹33.33 per sq ft, so a 900 sq ft flat pays ₹30,000 and a 1,350 sq ft flat pays ₹45,000. Which basis applies is for the general body to decide, and the resolution should say so.
If the resolution allows payment in three instalments, the levy is raised as a one-time charge of ₹10,000 on each of three bills for an equal-share flat. Each instalment is a due in its own right, applied to by the normal payment rule, and the levy’s page shows how much it has collected so far against the ₹36 lakh it was raised for.
Where the money is meant for a fund, such as a repair fund rather than general income, the collection should post to that fund in the accounts, so the committee can show that levied money was spent on what it was levied for.
Contributions that stay voluntary
A festival collection or a donation drive goes to residents as a contribution request in the app, with a suggested amount if the committee wants one. It does not appear in dues, does not count towards overdue totals, never attracts interest, and never puts anyone on a defaulter list. A member who declines is simply someone who declined.
This reflects what most bye-laws say about contributions for celebrations and causes: a society may ask but cannot compel. Keeping requests out of the dues ledger means the society’s arrears figures stay clean, and nobody receives a reminder implying they owe money they were only asked for.