Khatha Registration and Khatha Transfer

Khatha of a property is the record of property ownership in the property register maintained in a Municipality or Corporation. When a property is registered with the Municipality or Corporation, it is assessed to tax, assigned a municipal number and records the person primarily responsible to pay the property tax.

This article covers meaning of Khatha, its types, contents, registration, transfer and e-Khatha.

What is a Khatha?

In simple words, Khatha is nothing but an account. Khatha is the document that shows the account of the owner of the property in the property register with the Municipality or a Corporation. Once the property is registered with the Municipality or Corporation, the property will be assessed to tax, will have its own municipal number and the details of the person who is primarily responsible to pay the property tax will be registered.

Khatha is a mandatory process in Karnataka. In Karnataka, the City Municipal Corporation or Town Municipal Corporation issues Khatha for urban properties. For properties in urban Bangalore, the Khatha is issued by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike). For properties in rural areas or outside the BBMP's limits, the respective Panchayat or Municipality is responsible for Khatha registration. 

Types of Khatha

There are two types of Khatha in Karnataka, which are as follows:

Contents of a Khatha

• Property owner’s name
• Size of the property/measurement of the property
• Location of the property
• Built-up area of the property
• Whether the property is vacant or occupied
• Purpose of utilisation of the property
• The annual value of the property

This list is not exhaustive.

Registration and Transfer of Khatha

Below are the steps for registration and transfer of Khatha offline:

Step 1: Visit the BBMP website. Click on the option ‘Suvarna Khatha Application Form’ and take a printout of the application form. Alternatively, one can also visit the BBMP Assistant Revenue Officer and obtain the Khatha application form on payment of Rs.10.

Step 2: The application must then be filled accurately with the relevant documents attached as well.

Step 3: On completion, the form must be submitted to the BBMP office. An acknowledgement for the same will be given for tracking purposes.

Step 4: Track the application on a weekly basis. The time period for approval is subject to variation. Where there is no response from the BBMP office for two months, an RTI may be filed to seek information regarding the status of the application.

Step 5: On successful processing of the application, the property assessment will be made by a revenue officer from the BBMP for verification purposes.

Step 6: A Khatha registration fee of 2% of the property value as mentioned in the sale deed is to be paid to the BBMP. On payment of this registration fee, the notification regarding the payment of the pending property tax amount will be received. This is the indication that the property has been registered in your name. This tax amount has to be paid within 15 days.

Step 7: On payment of the property tax, the Khatha extract will be issued in your name. 

Note:

• Commercial properties are charged twice the amount of tax as compared to residential properties.
• For the transfer of Khatha, the formalities are significantly less. Additionally, the documents required are slightly varied. 

E-Khatha

The facility of E-Khatha can be availed only by Type A Khatha properties, not by Type B Khatha holders. This is because A Khatha properties are assigned a Property Identification Number (PID) which is received once the property verification is done by the relevant revenue officer. 

The government has made it mandatory to obtain e-Khatha for all properties falling under the BBMP in Bangalore. Citizens can get the e-Khatha from the BBMP office or through the BBMP E-Aasthi portal.

Conversion of A Khatha to B Khatha

The B Khatha has its limitations, hence it is always advisable to get it converted into A Khatha. This can be done on the payment of ‘Betterment Charges’ which generally is a percent of the of the land's market value. The betterment charges vary from 0.5% to 1.5%, depeding on the land types (Residential, Industrial, Commercial or Other land type).

Documents Required for Registration and Transfer of Khatha

Khatha is a legal document that provides the property details and the owner name as recorded by the Municipality or a Corporation. It is essential for tax assessment of the property, property tax payment and for obtaining loans.