Bengaluru civic bodies collect half of annual property tax target, but weekly pace lags

Published - September 08, 2026 11:16 pm IST - Bengaluru

Compared with the previous year’s collection for the same period, which stood at ₹3,211 crore, the corporations have achieved 5% higher revenue collection this year. | Photo Credit: File photo

For the fiscal year 2026–2027, the five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) have a combined property tax revenue target of ₹6,700 crore, according to GBA data. By the end of August, the corporations had already collected ₹3,372.48 crore, which is 50.3% of the annual target.

Compared with the previous year’s collection for the same period, which stood at ₹3,211 crore, the corporations have achieved 5% higher revenue collection this year.

While there has been a minor increase, the new civic bodies are still struggling to maintain the required weekly pace, as they are able to achieve only 40% to 60% of the total weekly target, which is pegged at ₹103.99 crore.

According to the report, the city has 21,73,630 properties in the tax base, including residential, non-residential, mixed-use, and vacant properties. The actual revenue potential from these properties is pegged at ₹4,066.11 crore. The inclusion of arrears and revisions takes the target revenue to ₹6,700 crore.

Positive expansion, but not enough

The civic bodies have identified 3.19 lakh defaulters who owe the corporations ₹609.32 crore. In addition, the corporations have identified 32,215 cases under revision enforcement, which is expected to fetch ₹554 crore.

The figures indicate that the corporations are steadily expanding the property tax revenue base, even as they have failed to unlock new revenue avenues. Even last year, the final property tax collection was below ₹4,100 crore, leaving over ₹2,000 crore in arrears. However, the current trend indicates that tax collection is likely to cross the previous year’s figure.

Despite a good performance comparatively, enforcement needs to be tightened so that the corporations can significantly step up collections in the remaining months and stay on course to meet the annual target.

A city corporation commissioner explained to The Hindu that the civic bodies are actively attempting to reach the target, as there is a high reliance on property tax to keep their revenue base healthy.

“During the civic budget, several works were planned, expecting revenue from avenues like the B-Khata conversion scheme and other sources. But many of those have not fetched the expected revenue, so we are trying our best to keep the available revenue streams healthy,” he explained.

The official further explained that despite a staff crunch due to several surveys, property tax collection has been better than last year. Once staff strength increases, the corporations are looking at tightening the collection and enforcement processes.

How the civic bodies fared

According to the data, the East Corporation has recorded the highest proportion of its target, collecting ₹882.22 crore, or 52.72%, of its target. West followed with ₹667.16 crore (52.06%), while South and Central have achieved 50.37% and 50.13%, respectively.

North has lagged behind the other corporations, collecting ₹565.56 crore, or 45.52%, of its ₹1,242.33-crore target. However, it has registered the highest year-on-year increase in collections at 9.15%.

Published - September 08, 2026 11:16 pm IST

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