- Bribe Hotline
- 13 years ago
- 2518 views
I live in a new RWA in Banaswadi where we purchased a flat couple of years ago. The Builder has asked all residents to get B Khata Transfer as he has spoken to the Jt. Commissioner BBMP and we are bei
Yes, this certainly looks like a bribe! There is no necessity for you to pay this. In the meantime, please question the builder, why is he behaving like an agent for the corrupt officials of the BBMP? That is not his job! Please see the note below to understand what a B Khata is.
A Khatha is an entry of the property owners details in the records of the Corporation/Municipality or the Gram Panchayat. The Khatha register is an important document that contains brief details of the property, the estimated property tax and other cesses payable on the property and the property tax and cesses collected every year. It is therefore an account of a person who has property in the city or Panchayat, as also an account of assessment of property owners within the Corporation’s jurisdiction.
On 16-1- 2007, the State Government constituted the BBMP by merging seven CMCs, 1 TMC and some Gram Panchayats, including Bellandur, with the erstwhile BMP. At the time of merger, the BMP was collecting property tax on the basis of Annual Rental Value under the optional Self Assessment System, whereas the CMCs, TMC were collecting tax under the capital value system under the provisions of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964 and the villages were collecting tax under the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993. Following the merger, it was felt necessary to bring in a uniform property tax policy in the entire BBMP area. Therefore, the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 was amended on 5th March 2009, by inserting a new section 108A, to provide for collection of property tax on the basis of unit area value. This new section 108A gives the detailed process for the assessment of property tax for such properties.
In principle, as soon as these surrounding areas became part of the BBMP, it should have become the responsibility of the BBMP to take over the property list of Bellandur and integrate it with its own property list. However, this did not happen. Part of the reason was inefficiency, but another reason was quite genuine.
What was the BBMPs genuine problem? To obtain a Khatha for a new building, it must in the first place be a building that has all the legal sanctions. However, many Apartment complex built in the Panchayats surrounding Bangalore were found to have violated several laws. For instance, they constructed on agricultural land that was not converted, or were built in violation of building bylaws, or no occupancy or completion certificates had been issued.
Most buyers of flats dont check these details when they buy the flat. You must check these details. Normally, your sale deed should contain information regarding the mutation of the land, its original owners, order reference regarding the conversion for non-agriculture purposes, etc and also the details of the plan sanction and the occupancy certificate. The builder must also give copies of all these documents to each of the owners who have purchased the apartment. But many sale deeds, especially in the case of apartment complexes, do not contain these land information.
Now in the normal course, if a building has flouted the building norms, they will not get the occupancy certificate. In the absence of the occupancy certificate the Tax Department in BBMP will not issue the Khatha certificate.
But then, who is the loser when you do not have a Khatha? Whilst the Khatha is an important document for you, it is actually more important for the BBMP, because it is the property list on the basis of which tax can be collected by the BBMP. If a Khatha is not given by the BBMP, they lose much more than you do. They cannot collect property tax from you!
So the BBMP did a very smart thing – to not give you a regular Khatha, but at the same time, collect tax from you. How did they do that? They amendedsub section 3 of Section 108A, to allow them to levy and collect the property tax even from a building constructed in violation of the provisions of the building byelaws or in an unauthorized layout or in a revenue land or from a building occupied without issuance of occupancy or completion certificate. The property tax collected from such building is to be maintained in a separate register. This is the B register, and the Khatha issued under this register is the B Khatha. The B Khatha certificate has all the essence of a regular Khatha but it will be made regular once the building has been regularized by the authorities.
So in this confusion, there are several points that you must remember, as follows:
(a) Even if you may have a sale deed registered with the sub-registrar, it still does not entitle you to get a Khatha Certificate.
(b) You need to have a possession certificate, encumbrance certificate, occupancy certificate, copies of previous tax paid for the land/building and then if you apply for a Khatha, you will get it.
(c) But then if the property has not been issued with occupancy certificate by the BBMP, then the following papers should be given along with the Khatha application.
(i) Title documents, flow chart of the title [ The developer has to give these details. Normally it should form part of the sale deed itself.]
(ii) Copies of previous tax paid receipts,
(iii) Proof of improvement charges paid (If the land has been converted by the planning authority, then improvement charges has to be paid to the BBMP)
(iv) Khatha extract issued by the erstwhile Panchayat ( The developer has to give this copy.)
(v) A Sketch showing the location and measurements of the property ( the builder has to give a certified measurement)
Then also you will be given a Khatha.
However, on the other hand, if the above documents have not been filed, then don’t worry, you are still entitled to get the B Khatha.
Incidentally, the details of the documents required are posted on the BBMP website www.bbmp.gov.in under "Khatha service"
In this confusion, beware of the unholy nexus between the Builder and the BBMP staff. They might approach you with the promise of getting a Khatha, no questions asked, if you pay a bribe! This is very dangerous, because even after you pay a bribe, if the Builder does not have the full documents, you might still get only a B Khatha, which is what you are entitled in the first place!
So, I would advise that you do the following things:
(a) First, I think you need to convince your Management Committee. Please print out this reply, as also the FAQs and give it to them. I would also advise that you give copies to all your flat owners, to muster support.
(b) Question your builder, or his agent or middleman, very closely. Ask him what kind of Khatha he will get you. An A Khatha, or a B Khatha? If he promises you an A Khatha, ask him to show you the occupancy certificate. If he does not have an occupancy certificate and he promises you an A Khatha, then he is lying to you. He cannot get you an A Khatha. If he has an occupancy certificate, then he must give you a copy.
(c)File an RTI with the BBMP, seeking to know the specific reason why the Khatha has not been issued in respect of the specific applications, (name them clearly so that the BBMP cannot dodge you) that you have filed?
The truth is that under the law, it is the BBMPs responsibility to give you the Khatha and we must hold them accountable, if they do not do so. Your builder also has a responsibility to be open and clear in his dealings with you. You must force the builder to give you the necessary documents as there are his primary obligations for selling the property.
To sum up, I would suggest that after you have gone through this response, please check if you have the necessary documents to obtain for either regular Khatha or a B Khatha as the case maybe. Once I have your response on the documents you have gathered, I can advise you further. But in the meantime please do not pay a bribe. It is a matter of your right to get a Khatha. If you have been fooled by your builder and your building does not have the legal status as promised by him, you are still entitled to get a B Khatha, which would suffice for the moment, till the Government announces a scheme for regularization of the unauthorized building.