Property tax crackdown: ₹318-crore evasion detected in second GPS-drone audit round

Bengaluru

In a sweeping enforcement drive leveraging advanced geospatial technology and on-ground verification, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has uncovered property tax evasion amounting to ₹318 crore in its second round of GPS-based inspections and special house-to-house visits.

The operation, spearheaded by the GBA (GBA) IT team in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), covered approximately 13,600 properties across the city. This comes in addition to the first round of action, taking the cumulative recovery notices to ₹688 crore involving nearly 23,600 properties.

67,000 notices issued for five-year underpayment

Officials revealed that around 67,000 show-cause notices have been generated—effectively one notice per assessment year—as most defaulters were found to have underpaid property tax for an average of five years. The notices demand payment of the evaded tax along with applicable interest and penalties.

Property owners have been informed through multiple channels, including SMS and IVRS alerts. Citizens can respond or file appeals online within 15 days via the BBMP’s grievance portal. Alternatively, they may pay the dues immediately through the official property tax website.

How the tech-driven system works

The enforcement mechanism combines field-level data capture with drone imagery and backend analytics:

• GPS teams conduct house-to-house visits carrying existing property tax data on a mobile application.
• Each property’s GPS coordinates are captured along with real-time recording of usage type—residential, commercial, or mixed—and total built-up area, including number of floors.
• The data is transmitted to a backend system where a Quality Control (QC) team conducts 100% verification. Any discrepancies are sent back for revalidation.
• QC-approved records are then cross-verified with drone imagery and digitized built-up area data.

If discrepancies arise—such as undeclared commercial usage or lower declared built-up area compared to drone-mapped measurements—the system automatically generates show-cause notices.

10,000 properties inspected daily

Officials stated that nearly 10,000 properties are being inspected daily under the drive. Authorities have made it clear that all cases of evasion will be systematically identified, leaving little scope for manual discretion.

A sample notice circulated by the civic body demonstrates a detailed and transparent comparison of declared and actual property data, outlining the basis for tax recalculation.

The large-scale crackdown signals GBAs intensified push to plug revenue leakages and enhance compliance through technology-driven governance.