Credai members urge implementation of E-Khatas in a phased manner

Members of the Confederation o f Re a l Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI Bengaluru), led by Amar Mysore, President of CREDAI Bengaluru, submitted a letter outlining critical issues facing the real estate sector, primarily concerning E-Khata, to Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda. The same document was also submitted to Mr. Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner (Revenue), BBMP. Additionally, the CREDAI Bengaluru delegation has placed a parallel submission with Byre Gowda and with Mr.Dayananda, Inspector General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps to revert stamp duty to the previous cap of 10 lakhs for both title deed deposit agreements and mortgage deeds.

E-Khata, designed to enhance transparency and accountability in the real estate sector, has faced challenges due to its sudden mandatory implementation Amar Mysore stated. He said, “Firstly, I must state that E-Khata is a step in the right direction to bring enhanced transparency and responsibility into the real estate sector. However, the sudden implementation of mandatory E-Khata has resulted in a rush of applications and subsequent overf low of applications from the general public, causing significant distress to people who are in the process of getting their documents registered. Also, the recent increase in stamp duty rates implemented disproportionately affect the real estate sector. For instance, a MoDT for a construction finance loan of ?100 crore incurs a stamp duty of ?50 lakhs compared to the previous cap of ?10 lakhs." He described the current process of uploading documents for E-Khata and the document veri f ication process adopted by BBMP as time-consuming and cumbersome, effectively causing delay in the registration process of various documents.

He said, CREDAI Bengaluru has requested the implementation of the mandatory requirement for E-Khatas in a phased manner to ensure smooth operations, as all E-Khatas across Bengaluru urban limits are still in the process of being updated/uploaded in the E-Aasthi portal. Additionally, CREDAI Bengaluru recommended streamlining the uploading process by introducing a user-friendly interface, allowing users to upload the requisite documents to complete the E-Khata procedure. CREDAI Bengaluru pointed out that the current property registration portal faces several challenges, including limitations in handling multiple transactions for a single property, cumbersome process to procure the E-Khata, and mandatory E-Khata requirements causing hardship to end customers. The industry body also raised the concern on the new system's impact on stamp duty calculations for undeveloped land.

With the E-katha being insisted upon, even the undeveloped lands are wrongly being assessed on valuation based on per sq. ft. basis vs. the previous method of acre wise valuation. He said the CREDAI Bengaluru has suggested streamlining the issuance of the E-Khata document, enhancing portal capabilities for multiple transactions, accepting alternative identity proofs, mandating E-Khata only for title transfers and reverting to the previous mechanism for undeveloped land, reducing stamp duty fees for deposit of title deeds.

He said, CREDAI Bengaluru will continue to work closely with the government to proactively identify and propose solutions that will mutually benefit both the government, the real estate sector and the home buyer. We have been assured by the government and BBMP that our suggestions will be considered, and we are confident that all issues pertaining to this will be resolved speedily,” Amar Mysore observed.