The khata is a municipal revenue record showing who is liable to pay property tax. It is often misdescribed as a title document. It is not one, and this distinction matters.
Two documents travel under the same word, and buyers routinely accept one when they need the other. A khata certificate is issued to a named person for a stated purpose, usually to apply for a building licence, a trade licence or a loan. A khata extract is the entry itself, carrying the owner's name, the dimensions, the built-up area and the annual value on which tax is assessed. Ask for both, and read the extract against the schedule in the sale deed. A mismatch in the dimensions is cheaper to correct before you buy than after.
A khata
The property is on the main municipal register, having been assessed as complying with the applicable approvals and regulations. Practically, an A khata property can obtain building plan sanction, a trade licence, and finance from most lenders without difficulty, and it transfers cleanly.
B khata
Maintained as a separate register for properties that are not fully compliant, for instance where the layout was not approved, betterment charges were unpaid, or construction deviated from the sanctioned plan. The municipality accepts tax from them, which people wrongly read as regularisation. Consequences:
- Building plan sanction is generally not granted
- Trade licences and certain utility connections become difficult
- Many banks decline home loans, and those that lend often do so on worse terms
- Resale is slower and the price reflects it
The separate register is not an invention of the corporation. Section 108A of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, which deals with property tax in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike area, contemplates a separate register being maintained for properties put up in violation of the building bylaws or on unauthorised layouts, and tax being collected from them all the same. Collecting the tax does not turn the property into a compliant one, which is exactly why a B khata property can be perfectly saleable and still be unable to obtain a plan sanction.
Khata is about municipal compliance and tax liability. Title is about ownership, and it comes from the registered deeds and the encumbrance record. A property can have a perfect A khata and defective title, or a B khata and clean title. Verify both, separately.
The practical consequence is that a khata transfer cures nothing in the chain of title. Ownership moves only on a registered conveyance, which is why it pays to be clear about what a sale deed does that an agreement to sell does not before you attach any weight at all to a municipal entry. Run the full title and document verification on a khata property exactly as you would on any other, and on a B khata property run it harder.
| A khata | B khata | |
|---|---|---|
| What it records | A property compliant with building and planning rules | A property on which betterment charges are collected but which is not fully compliant |
| Building plan approval | Available | Generally not |
| Trade licence | Available | Generally not |
| Bank loan | Ordinarily available | Often refused or restricted |
| Resale | Straightforward | Smaller buyer pool, lower price |
| Regularisation | Not needed | Depends on the scheme in force at the time |
Getting the khata transferred after you buy
The khata does not follow the sale deed by itself. You have to apply, and until the record is updated the corporation still shows the seller as the person liable for tax on the property you have paid for.
- Apply to the corporation, which in Bengaluru now runs through the e-Aasthi and e-khata route, with the registered sale deed, a current encumbrance certificate, the previous khata, property tax paid receipts brought up to date, and the identity documents the form calls for.
- Pay the transfer fee. The corporation works it out on a basis fixed by the state, so ask the office or check the portal for the current basis rather than budgeting from a figure someone quoted you.
- Wait for the record to be updated, then download or collect a fresh khata certificate and khata extract in your own name and check the particulars on both.
Settle the seller's tax arrears before registration rather than after, because arrears attach to the property and you are the one who will be asked for them. Where the property lies in a revenue area rather than a municipal one, the equivalent records are the RTC and the mutation entry on the Bhoomi portal.
e-khata is now mandatory in Bengaluru
This is no longer a transition you can wait out. e-khata is mandatory for property registration within BBMP limits, and a property cannot be registered, sold or transferred without a valid e-khata. Applications are made through the BBMP e-Aasthi portal or Seva Sindhu, with the sale deed, encumbrance certificate, Aadhaar and property tax receipts.
Two practical consequences. First, confirm the seller already holds a valid e-khata before you pay any advance, because obtaining one mid-transaction is what delays registrations. Second, B khata holders should check the current conversion window, since the state has periodically reduced the B-to-A conversion charge, and that is the cheapest moment to regularise.
If you are buying B khata
Go in with your eyes open: arrange finance before committing, price the restriction in, check whether the property is capable of regularisation, and confirm there is no deviation that risks demolition. Have the title examined more carefully rather than less.
Five questions to put to the seller, in writing, before any advance changes hands.
- Why is it in the B register? Unapproved layout, deviation from the sanctioned plan, betterment charges unpaid, or construction without a licence. The answer decides whether it is capable of being regularised at all
- Is there a demolition risk? A setback violation or an encroachment on a road, drain or buffer zone is not cured by paying a charge
- Has any notice been issued by the corporation or the planning authority, and can you see the file rather than a summary of it
- Will a bank fund it, and on what terms? Get that answer from a lender in writing before you commit, not from the seller
- What would regularisation cost today, and who bears it under your agreement. Put the answer in the agreement to sell, with a deadline
Price the restriction in rather than hoping it will disappear. A discount that honestly reflects the difficulty is a fair transaction. A full price paid on an assurance that regularisation is coming soon is not.