BBMP cracks down on E-Khata holders for property tax mismatch in Bengaluru

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has issued a strong warning to property owners with E-Khatas after discovering large-scale discrepancies between self-declared property dimensions and actual records. As of now, over 26,000 E-Khata holders have received show-cause notices for alleged under-reporting of property size during tax declarations.

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Out of the 6 lakh-plus citizens who have registered for E-Khatas, many are suspected of deliberately showing reduced square footage to lower their property tax burden. The BBMP has found that in several cases, the area declared under the Self-Assessment Scheme does not match the details provided in the E-Khata application.

The civic body has now made it mandatory for owners to pay tax for any undeclared or under-declared area within 15 days, along with submission of all supporting documents to the Assistant Revenue Officer (ARO). Failure to comply could lead to account freezing or property seizure. If the mismatch is proven, defaulters will have to pay double the tax as a penalty.

The BBMP is intensifying its action to curb property tax evasion and has already started freezing accounts of non-compliant property owners.