Bengaluru intensifies crackdown on property tax evasion

Bengaluru’s GBA crackdown exposes tax evasion: 67,000 notices, ₹688 crore recoverable. In Kengeri, one owner faces ₹22,633 reassessment for under‑declared area

Bengaluru’s Greater Bangalore Authority (GBA) has launched an unprecedented crackdown on property tax evasion, shocking thousands of residents who had under‑declared property details. Using advanced GIS mapping, drone imagery, and GPS‑enabled field inspections, officials have uncovered widespread discrepancies in declared property areas, floor counts, and usage categories.

In one recent case from Kengeri Sub‑division, Bengaluru West City Corporation issued a digitally generated show cause notice under Section 150(3) of the GBG Act 2024. The notice revealed that a property owner had declared a built‑up area of 2,800 sqft, while drone imagery confirmed 5,458 sqft. The under‑assessment led to a declared tax of ₹5,657.97, compared to the reassessed liability of ₹15,495.91. With penalties, cess, and interest, the total payable amount rose to ₹22,633. The notice warned that failure to respond within 15 days would confirm reassessment and trigger a demand notice.

This case is part of a larger operation spearheaded by GBA’s IT department in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC). A special GPS team has been conducting house‑to‑house reviews, capturing property details such as location, usage, and floor count via a mobile app. The data undergoes 100% verification by a Quality Control team before being cross‑checked against drone imagery. Any mismatch automatically generates a show cause notice with penalties.

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The scale of detection has been staggering. In the first week of February alone, 10,000 cases of tax evasion were identified. The second phase added 13,600 more cases, exposing fraud worth ₹318 crore. In total, about 67,000 notices have been issued across multiple years, with ₹688 crore to be recovered from 23,600 properties.

Citizens receiving notices are informed via SMS and IVRS, and they can either file objections online within 15 days or pay the reassessed tax immediately. With the GPS team visiting nearly 10,000 properties daily, officials say accountability will soon be enforced across the city.

The crackdown underscores Bengaluru’s determination to plug revenue leaks and ensure fairness in civic taxation. For property owners, the message is clear: misreporting property details will no longer go unnoticed.

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