Bengaluru: Corporations to survey malls, large buildings for property tax discrepancies

Bengaluru: The five city corporations will soon undertake a detailed survey of malls and large commercial buildings to verify whether incorrect built-up area details have been furnished during property tax payments, leading to revenue losses.

Senior officials said the Revenue Department of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has directed the corporations to carry out the exercise following inputs that several large establishments may have underreported their built-up area to reduce tax liability.

"Given the scale of these commercial properties, even minor discrepancies in reporting built-up area can result in the loss of crores of rupees in revenue. It is, therefore, essential to verify whether accurate information has been provided while paying property tax,” a senior GBA official said.

The corporations have already appointed 50 GPS operators to document smaller buildings and commercial establishments. However, officials said assessing large structures requires technical expertise and specialised equipment. Each corporation will, therefore, engage external service providers to carry out the measurements.

"Our revenue officers routinely inspect smaller properties. However, accurately measuring large commercial complexes requires specialised tools,” a senior official from the Bengaluru West City Corporation said.

Sources added that several such establishments also have pending property tax dues. “In some cases, not only are dues pending, but there are indications of undervaluation. A focused assessment is necessary,” another GBA official said.

Earlier, the GBA identified nearly 10,000 houses that had allegedly evaded property tax for years by underreporting built-up area. The authority estimates a revenue loss of around Rs 370 crore and has issued notices in these cases.