Apartment maintenance, corpus fund and property tax

3.7.1 Who collects property tax in Bangalore?

Five city corporations collect property tax in Bangalore: Bengaluru Central, East, North, South and West. They all use one website, the Bengaluru City Corporations Property Tax portal at bbmptax.karnataka.gov.in. The portal says that the website belongs to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), and that NIC Karnataka designed and hosts it. The head office is the Joint Commissioner of Revenue, NR Square, GBA. The legal basis is the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024. Section 146 of that Act gives each city corporation the power to levy property tax on lands and buildings. The tax works on self-assessment. Section 148 says that the person liable files a return on the property and pays the tax. To pay online, you enter the 10-digit SAS application number or the PID number of the property. Then you type any three consecutive letters of the owner’s name. The portal also links a list of designated bank branches and Bengaluru One centres for payment.

To object to a show-cause notice, the portal points to the BBMP Court Case Monitoring System (BCCMS).

Item	What the portal shows
Collecting bodies	Bengaluru Central, East, North, South and West city corporations
Property identifier	10-digit SAS application number or PID number
Online payment	HDFC Bank payment gateway
Other payment points	Designated bank branches, Bengaluru One centres
Objections to show-cause notices	BCCMS, bbmpenyaya.karnataka.gov.in
Helpline	(080) 2297 5555, (080) 2266 0000, dcrev@bbmp.gov.in
Office hours	Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 5.30 pm, except the 2nd and 4th Saturday

Source: Bengaluru City Corporations Property Tax portal, checked 10 October 2026.

3.7.2 How is property tax calculated for a flat in Bangalore?

The law and the portal describe two different methods, so check the portal for your own flat. Section 147(1) of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act says that each city corporation levies the tax by resolution. It must follow the “capital value system based on the Guideline Value” notified under section 45B of the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957. Section 147(4) says that the tax is reduced by fifty percent for a self-occupied residential building. Section 152 says that the tax is revised when the guidance value is revised. If the guidance value is not revised in a year, the tax “shall stand revised by five percent” that year. The portal menu hides its Tax Calculator, but the page still loads at bbmptax.karnataka.gov.in/Forms/Calculator.aspx. Checked on 10 October 2026, it still uses the older Unit Area Value (UAV) inputs. It asks for a zone from A to F, the built-up area, the car park area, and whether the flat is tenanted or self-occupied. It lists assessment years only up to 2023-24.

Sachi has not found a capital value rate table for the five city corporations on the portal. So this chapter cannot give a rate per square foot for 2026-27. The portal’s older FAQ, written for the 2016-17 revision, explains the UAV method. The city was divided into six value zones based on the guidance values of the Department of Stamps and Registration. The portal’s sample calculation for 2016-17 shows the UAV steps for one house.

Step (UAV method)	Sample, SAS 2016 column (portal PDF)
Built-up area	2,850 sq ft, residential, owner-occupied, built 2016
SAS rate	₹1.90 per sq ft
Gross annual unit area value	₹54,150
Depreciation (3 percent)	₹1,624.50
Net taxable annual value	₹52,526
Property tax	₹10,505
Cess	₹2,521
Total property tax	₹13,026

Source: Sample Property Tax Calculation (SAS 2016), Bengaluru City Corporations Property Tax portal, checked 10 October 2026. These are 2016-17 figures, before the 20 percent cap that the same PDF describes. They are not current rates. Sachi’s reading: ₹54,150 equals 2,850 × ₹1.90 × 10, and ₹10,505 is 20 percent of ₹52,526. The PDF does not explain the factor of 10 or the 20 percent.

For an apartment, the older FAQ says that the area in the schedule of the sale deed is used. The total “shall not be less than the area mentioned in the occupancy certificate”. It also says that car park area is charged at 50 percent of the zone rate. Section 146 of the Act lets the city corporations levy a solid waste management cess, an infrastructure cess and an urban land transport cess. Section 164 says that the State Government prescribes the cess rates. Do not copy a neighbour’s tax, because the area, use and occupancy can differ.

3.7.3 When is property tax due, and how much is the early-payment rebate?

Property tax is due in two equal half-yearly instalments, or in one payment for the full year. Section 148(1) of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act sets the last dates: the end of May and the end of November. A full-year payment within one month from 1 April gets a rebate “not exceeding five percent” of the tax, “as notified”. The Act also lets the Government extend the rebate period up to the end of May. The portal’s “Dates to Remember” box shows the dates for assessment year 2026-27. The rebate window is 1 to 30 April 2026. First-half interest starts on 1 June 2026. The penalty starts on 29 November 2026. Second-half interest starts on 1 December 2026. The box does not state the rebate percentage or the interest rate. Sachi did not find a 2026 order on the portal that extends the rebate period. The portal shows a “Last Updated On” date of 1 April 2026.

Date (assessment year 2026-27)	What the portal shows
1 to 30 April 2026	Rebate
1 June 2026	First half interest
29 November 2026	Penalty starts
1 December 2026	Second half interest

Source: Bengaluru City Corporations Property Tax portal, “Dates to Remember”, checked 10 October 2026. The 5 percent ceiling comes from Section 148(1) of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024. The rate actually notified for 2026-27 is unverified.

Two portal notices differ on double payments. An older BBMP notice says that the auto-refund starts within 10 working days of the excess payment. A newer “Attention Tax Payers” notice says that the city corporations are not liable for duplicate or excess payments. Nor are they liable for refunds that banks start automatically. It says that only the city corporations process refund requests for payments through the HDFC Bank gateway. Do not approach the gateway. Raise a ticket in the portal’s Grievance section instead.

3.7.4 What happens if you pay property tax late or declare too little?

You pay interest, and later a penalty. The rules are in Section 150(3) of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act. The Act’s illustration for unpaid tax shows three stages. In the year the tax is due, each unpaid half carries interest at 9 percent per year until 31 March. This interest runs from 1 June on the first half and from 1 December on the second half. These are the same dates as the portal’s interest dates. Next, tax unpaid at the end of its financial year carries interest at 15 percent per year for twelve months. After those twelve months, a penalty equal to the unpaid tax is added, with interest at 9 percent per year. The provisos in the Act state the 15 percent and the later 9 percent stages. The first 9 percent stage comes from the illustration.

A different rule applies if a return declares too little. If a reassessment finds that the tax is more than five percent higher than the tax paid, you pay the evaded tax. You also pay a penalty equal to the evaded tax, and interest at 9 percent per year on the difference. The Act’s illustration runs this interest on two halves, from 31 May and 30 November.

Case	Consequence under Section 150(3)
Half-year tax unpaid within the year it is due	9 percent per year interest from 1 June (first half) or 1 December (second half) to 31 March, per the Act’s illustration
Tax unpaid at the end of the financial year	15 percent per year interest for the next twelve months
Tax still unpaid after those twelve months	Penalty equal to the unpaid tax, plus 9 percent per year interest
Reassessed tax more than 5 percent above the tax paid	Evaded tax, plus a penalty equal to it, plus 9 percent per year interest

Source: Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, Section 150(3), gazette copy with amending Acts 60 of 2025 and 1 of 2026 appended, checked 10 October 2026. Neither amending Act changes Sections 146 to 156.

Unpaid tax stays with the flat. Section 155 makes property tax “a first charge” on the building and land, subject only to land revenue due to the Government. So before your sale deed, check the dues on the property’s PID on the portal.

3.7.5 Who pays property tax and maintenance before and after possession?

The builder pays the outgoings it collected from buyers until it hands over possession. After that, you pay them as the agreement for sale sets. Section 11(4)(g) of the RERA Act says that the promoter must “pay all outgoings until he transfers the physical possession”. The section covers outgoings that the promoter collected from the allottees. The list includes “municipal or other local taxes”, charges for water or electricity, and “maintenance charges”. If the promoter does not pay them, the proviso keeps it liable “even after the transfer of the property”, with any penal charges. Section 11(4)(d) makes the promoter responsible for essential services “on reasonable charges” until the association of allottees takes over maintenance. Section 19(6) says that the allottee pays “municipal taxes, water and electricity charges, maintenance charges, ground rent, and other charges”. You pay them in the manner and time that the agreement for sale specifies. Section 19(6) does not mention possession. Sachi’s reading: the agreement for sale, read with Section 11(4)(g), sets when your duty starts.

Section 19(7) adds interest, at a prescribed rate, for any delay by you. Section 19(8) lets you and the builder reduce these duties by mutual agreement.

Period or case	What the law says	Law
Before physical possession	The promoter (builder) pays the outgoings it collected, including municipal tax and maintenance	RERA Act, Section 11(4)(g)
Until the association takes over maintenance	The promoter provides and maintains essential services, on reasonable charges (no rule on who pays tax)	RERA Act, Section 11(4)(d)
When the agreement for sale says	You pay municipal taxes and maintenance charges	RERA Act, Section 19(6)
Late payment by you	Interest at the prescribed rate	RERA Act, Section 19(7)
Mutual agreement	Your duties under 19(6) and 19(7) can be reduced	RERA Act, Section 19(8)

Source: Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, checked 10 October 2026.

At possession, ask the builder for the paid tax receipts up to the handover date. The portal’s older FAQ says that tax is due from the date of occupation or completion, whichever is earlier. It adds that a building completed after 1 October pays tax only for the second half of that year. That FAQ was written under the KMC Act, 1976, so confirm the current rule with your ARO.

3.7.6 How does a new flat get into the property tax register?

A new flat enters the tax register as a new property, and each change of owner must be reported. The portal menu hides its “New Property” and “eKatha Application” links, so a buyer cannot reach them from the home page. Section 152 of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act sets a six-month limit. The owner or occupier reports a new building or a change within six months of completion or occupation, whichever is earlier. The revised tax applies from the next due date, 31 May or 30 November. Section 149 says that the seller and the buyer must give notice of a transfer within three months. But if the Sub-Registrar directly notifies the transfer to the city corporation, the parties need not give this notice. Section 147(3) lets the city tax a building occupied without an occupancy certificate. Such tax goes into a separate register and “does not confer any right to regularize” the building. The section also bars any such registration for unauthorised buildings created after 30 September 2024. It treats the BESCOM connection date as the date of construction.

Sachi’s reading: for a new flat, the occupancy certificate decides which register your flat enters. A flat in a building without an occupancy certificate, built after 30 September 2024, cannot enter the tax register at all under Section 147(3). See the e-khata chapter for how the tax record links to your khata.

Check	Where to check it	Red flag
Tax paid up to handover	Builder’s receipts, portal payment status	Builder cannot show receipts
Occupancy certificate for your tower	Builder, K-RERA project page	No occupancy certificate at handover
Area used for tax	Sale deed schedule and occupancy certificate	Area below the occupancy certificate area
Dues on the PID	Portal payment status and demand notice pages	Unpaid demand or defaulter notice
Notice of transfer	Section 149: within three months, unless the Sub-Registrar notifies	No tax record in your name after registration

Sources: Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024 and the Bengaluru City Corporations Property Tax portal, checked 10 October 2026.

3.7.7 What should you check in maintenance charges and the corpus fund?

Maintenance charges pay for the shared services of the building, such as security, housekeeping, lifts, common electricity, water systems and gardens. A corpus fund is a separate one-time sum that some builders collect, often for long-term repairs. No primary source that Sachi checked fixes the amount, the billing basis or the refund terms of either one. The RERA Act sets only the framework. Section 19(6) says that you pay maintenance charges in the manner and time in the agreement for sale. Section 11(4)(e) says that the builder must enable the formation of an association of allottees. If no local law applies, the association must be formed within three months of a majority of the flats being booked. Section 19(9) says that every allottee must take part in forming it. Section 17(2) says that the builder hands over the documents, plans and common areas to the association after the occupancy certificate and possession. So the corpus and the maintenance account also need a written handover plan.

Ask the builder these questions in writing before you book:

1. Ask for the monthly maintenance rate and its basis: carpet area, super built-up area, or a flat amount per unit.
2. Ask how many months of maintenance the builder collects in advance, and from which date billing starts.
3. Ask for the corpus fund amount, who holds it, and whether it earns interest.
4. Ask when the builder hands over the corpus and the maintenance account to the association.
5. Ask how the association approves a budget increase, and how it shares accounts with owners.

Put the answers in the agreement for sale. A brochure promise does not bind the builder.