Khata in Karnataka: A-khata, B-khata and e-Khata

The rule

• Definition. Khata: a record in the property tax register. Khatadar: the person in whose name the khata is recorded and who is “legally responsible to pay the property tax”; the entry “shall be presumed to be true until the contrary is proved or a new entry is lawfully substituted” (s. 2(35)). A khata extract is an extract with the specified details of the property (s. 2(36)).
• Two kinds of khata. Each person who pays property tax gets “an acknowledgement or Khata”, which “shall be distinct for lawful and unlawful buildings or vacant land” (s. 148(6)). Under rule 3 of the 2024 property tax rules, lawful properties go in Property Register-A (Form-1) and receive a khata in Form-3; unauthorised properties go in Property Register-B (Form-2) and receive a khata in Form-4.
• What B-khata does not give. Tax may be collected from a building in an unauthorised layout, on revenue land or without an occupancy certificate, but this “does not confer any right to regularize violation made, or title, ownership or legal status to such building” (s. 147(3), first proviso). No such tax registration is done for unauthorised buildings or plots “constructed or created after 30th September 2024” (second proviso).
• Law in force. The Greater Bengaluru Governance Act came into force on 15 May 2025 and repealed the BBMP Act, 2020; rules and forms made under the old Act continue until superseded (s. 361). The 2024 rules were made under the BBMP Act. Whether they have since been replaced by rules under the 2024 Act was not established in the sources read.

Step by step: khata after you buy

1. Before buying, ask for the khata extract and check which register the property is in. A Register-B khata tells you the property was not found compliant; it is not a defect that the khata can cure. See occupancy and completion certificate.
2. Register the sale deed. See property registration process and the stamp duty calculator.
3. Notice of transfer. The seller and the buyer must give notice to the Corporation within three months of the transfer, unless the Sub-Registrar communicates the registered transfer directly (s. 149(1)). An heir has one year from the owner’s death (s. 149(2)).
4. Publication and objections. Under rule 10 of the 2024 rules, the proposed mutation is published in Form-23 and notices are served, giving not less than fifteen days for objections. Disputed cases are heard in a summary hearing and disposed of within thirty days of the objection.
5. e-Khata order. If no objection is received, the mutation is certified and an e-Khata order is issued in Form-24. The form states that the transfer is subject to cancellation “if the documents submitted found to be fraudulent documents or if any dispute arises”.
6. Reopening. The Commissioner may reopen a transfer of title recorded “wrongly or by fraud” within five years; the limit does not apply to entries made by fraud or misrepresentation, or to government property (s. 149(5)).

e-Khata and e-Aasthi

The Department of Land Resources evaluation of Karnataka describes e-Aasthi as the software for maintaining khata details (property tax) in urban local bodies, managed by the Urban Development Department, and e-Swathu as the software for non-agricultural properties in rural areas, managed by the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department. It notes that, according to news reports, e-Khatas generated under e-Aasthi and e-Swathu were made mandatory for property registration from 1 October 2024; the government order itself was not read for this guide. The BBMP e-Aasthi address now redirects to a Greater Bengaluru Authority e-Aasthi portal, which did not open from outside India when this guide was checked, so the online steps and any fee are not described here.

Rural property: e-Swathu

Outside city corporations, converted (non-agricultural) land and house properties in villages are recorded by the gram panchayat in e-Swathu, while agricultural land stays in the revenue record (RTC) in Bhoomi. The DoLR evaluation found no link between Bhoomi and local-body khata data, so for peri-urban land it “may be difficult to ascertain” which record to rely on at registration, “creating a scope for multiple transactions on same land parcel”. It also cites a proxy estimate that about 62 lakh landowners may have converted land whose details are still in Bhoomi. Check both records, and the conversion order: see conversion of agricultural land and buying land and plots. The forms the panchayat issues were not read at an official source.

What a khata is not

• Not a title deed. It is a tax record. Title rests on the chain of registered deeds: see title search and encumbrance certificate.
• Not the revenue “khata number”. The RTC (rural record of rights) also has a khata number in column 9, which is a revenue-record entry, not the municipal khata.

For how mutation works in other states, see mutation of property records; for the tax itself, property tax in Indian cities.

Which professional to consult

A property lawyer (advocate) enrolled with the State Bar Council can read the khata extract against the title documents and the approvals. See property lawyers. This guide states published rules and is not legal advice.

Sources and limits

The Greater Bengaluru Authority and e-Swathu portals did not open from outside India on 18 October 2026: online steps, fees and the form numbers of rural extracts are not stated. The 1 October 2024 e-Khata requirement is reported from the DoLR evaluation, which itself cites news reports.