Selling a Plot or Land in Karnataka: Approvals, Documents and Tax

You bought a site in a layout on the edge of Bengaluru fifteen years ago, or your family has held a few acres near a town for generations. Now you want to sell. Interest is good, but every serious buyer comes back with the same question: "Can you send the documents?"

Land sales in Karnataka involve more paperwork than flat sales, because land records sit with several offices: the revenue department, the planning authority, the local body and the sub-registrar. Buyers, and especially their banks, check each one. If you prepare the file before you list, you get better buyers, fewer price cuts and a faster registration.

First, know what kind of land you are selling

The documents depend on the type of property. Most land in Karnataka falls into one of these:

1. A site in an approved layout within a city or planning area, for example one approved by BDA, BMRDA or a local planning authority, with a khata from the city body.
2. A site in a gram panchayat area, recorded through the panchayat's e-Swathu system.
3. Converted land that the Deputy Commissioner has allowed for residential, commercial or industrial use, but not yet laid out as an approved layout.
4. Agricultural land, still recorded as farm land in revenue records.
5. A "revenue site" in an unapproved layout, often with a B-khata. These are the hardest to sell, and many banks won't lend on them.

Buyers pay the most for type 1, because their bank will fund it and they can get a building plan approved. The further down the list, the smaller your pool of buyers.

Conversion: why it matters to your buyer

Farm land can't legally be used for houses or other non-farm purposes until its use is changed. This is called land conversion, granted under Section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, by the Deputy Commissioner. The conversion order and its sketch are among the first documents a buyer's lawyer asks for.

Rules have been simplified in recent years. Amendment rules notified in 2025 removed the need for separate conversion in specified cases within approved master plan areas of the Bengaluru region, treating the land as converted as part of the building or layout approval. Whether this covers your land depends on its location and zoning, so check with a lawyer before telling buyers that conversion is not needed.

Even with conversion, the land use must match the local master plan. A site zoned for agriculture or green belt in the master plan is a red flag for buyers.

Who can buy farm land

Since 2020, when Sections 79A and 79B of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act were removed, people who are not farmers can buy agricultural land in Karnataka, and the old income limit for buyers no longer applies. This widened the market for sellers. There has been political talk of bringing the restrictions back, so confirm the current position with your lawyer before you sign, as of November 2026.

Some land still has transfer limits. Land granted by the government to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe families is covered by the PTCL Act and generally can't be sold without government permission. Other granted or inam lands may also have conditions. Buyers' lawyers look for these, so find out early.

The document file buyers will ask for

Title documents

• Your registered sale deed, gift deed, partition deed or other document by which you got the land.
• The earlier deeds going back about 30 years, to show an unbroken chain.
• For inherited land, the family tree (genealogy), death certificates and release deeds or consent from all legal heirs. Missing a single heir's signature is the most common reason land deals fall through.

Revenue records (for agricultural and converted land)

• RTC (Pahani), the record of rights, tenancy and crops, from the Bhoomi system, showing your name and the extent.
• Mutation register (MR) extracts showing how the land passed to you.
• Survey sketch of the survey number and any sub-division (hissa), with matching boundaries.
• Conversion order and approved sketch if converted.

Layout and local body records (for sites)

• The layout approval and plan from the planning authority, showing your plot number and size.
• The release order for your plot. Planning authorities often hold back part of a new layout until the developer finishes roads and drains. Make sure your site is in the released portion.
• Khata: in Bengaluru an e-khata, which sub-registrars now need before registering a sale. In panchayat areas, the e-Swathu form (commonly Form 9 or 11) for the property.
• Property tax receipts, cleared up to date.

Encumbrance certificate

Get a fresh EC from the Kaveri portal, ideally covering 30 years. Clear any old mortgage and make sure the release is registered.

Physical checks

• Mark boundaries clearly. A licensed surveyor's measurement before you list avoids arguments about area later.
• Check road access and width as per the layout plan, not just the track people use today.
• Remove encroachments, or at least disclose them.

Guidance value and pricing

Every property in Karnataka has a guidance value, set by the Department of Stamps and Registration, and you can look it up on the Kaveri portal. Stamp duty and registration are charged on the higher of the guidance value and the agreed price. The registration fee rose from 1% to 2% from 31 August 2025, and a further guidance value revision has been under discussion in 2026, so check the current rate before you price.

Guidance value also affects your tax. If you sell more than 10% below it, the guidance value is treated as your sale price for capital gains, and the buyer may be taxed on the difference too. This rule continues under the Income Tax Act, 2025. Agreeing a lower "official" price with part paid in cash is illegal and leaves both of you exposed.

Tax on selling land

• Long-term or short-term: land held more than 24 months is long-term. For sales after 23 July 2024, long-term gains are taxed at 12.5% without indexation. Resident individuals and HUFs who bought before that date can pick the older 20%-with-indexation method if it gives less tax.
• Reinvesting in a house: if you put the sale money into a residential house, the exemption that was Section 54F (now Section 86 of the new Act) can reduce or remove the tax, subject to conditions and the ₹10 crore cap.
• Rural agricultural land: farm land located beyond set distances from city and town limits is not treated as a capital asset, so its sale is not subject to capital gains tax. Check where your land falls.
• TDS: the buyer deducts 1% if the price is ₹50 lakh or more. This does not apply to rural agricultural land.

Land tax rules have many conditions, so get a CA to work out your liability before you agree on the price.

Questions buyers will ask you

Be ready with clear answers to:

1. Is the land converted, and does the master plan zoning allow what I want to build?
2. Is the layout approved, and is this site in the released portion?
3. Are all legal heirs and co-owners signing?
4. Is there any court case, acquisition notice or road widening plan affecting the land?
5. Are taxes paid, and is the khata or e-Swathu record in your name?

Land records vary from one village to the next, so have a property lawyer review your file before you list. If you want help preparing documents, pricing against guidance value and finding serious buyers, Skyros Estates offers selling support for plots and land across Karnataka.