Bengaluru property owners now pay a 'software charge' with their tax
Bengaluru's civic body has introduced an annual software charge of ₹200 on homes and ₹1,000 on commercial properties, prompting debate among taxpayers.
Property owners in Bengaluru are now required to pay an additional annual fee alongside their property tax. The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has started collecting a 'software charge' on both residential and commercial properties, a move that has triggered debate among taxpayers.
What the charge covers
The fee is levied by the five city corporations under the GBA and is linked to the technology that allows owners to pay their civic dues online. According to officials, the amount goes towards the recurring cost of maintaining and upgrading the digital infrastructure used for property tax collection and other civic services. The authority has said it has no independent revenue stream to fund these IT-related expenses.
How much owners pay
Residential properties are being charged ₹200 a year, while commercial properties face a fee of ₹1,000. The demand has arrived midway through the financial year and without any prior official announcement, leaving many owners questioning both the additional amount and the timing.
GBA defends the levy
Special Commissioner (Revenue and IT) Munish Moudgil has defended the charge, arguing that technology has transformed civic services in the city. "In building a world-class city, we need world-class software and IT infrastructure," he said, adding that developing and maintaining these systems requires substantial funds. He described the ₹200 annual charge for homes as nominal compared with the time and convenience digital services offer citizens.
The GBA pointed to its e-Khata system as evidence of the scale of its digital push. Moudgil said nearly 12 lakh e-Khatas had been issued in under two years, a figure he said would not have been achievable through traditional paper-based processes. The authority also claimed a disposal rate of around 98 per cent, with applications typically processed in seven to eight days and applicants receiving e-Khatas in about a week.