Bengaluru guidance values and Karnataka stamp duty: what a flat buyer actually pays

Rules and rates as of 21 October 2026.

When you register a flat in Bengaluru, the sub-registrar does not simply take the price on your sale deed. The state publishes its own minimum value for every area, called the guidance value, and duty is charged on whichever is higher. This explainer covers where that rule comes from, what the stamp duty and fees add up to, a worked example, and what happens if the deed shows less than the guidance value.

What a guidance value is

The Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957 defines "market value" in section 2(1)(mm) as the price the property would have fetched in the open market on the date the instrument was signed, in the opinion of the Deputy Commissioner or the appellate authorities, or the consideration stated in the instrument, if that is higher.

The state's published estimate of that open-market price is the guidance value. A Comptroller and Auditor General audit of Karnataka's stamps department (Report No. 1 of 2019, Chapter 3) explains the machinery:

• A Central Valuation Committee, set up under section 45B of the Act and chaired by the Inspector General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps, estimates, publishes and revises guidance values.
• Outside Bengaluru, district valuation sub-committees propose values to it. For Bengaluru Urban and Rural, the committee itself does the estimation.
• The valuation rules say revision "shall be done on a yearly basis". The audit recommended that the government consider a three- or five-year cycle, or indexation, instead.

Values are set by area, and often by road, survey number or apartment project. A later CAG report on Karnataka (Report No. 1 of 2023, Chapter III) notes that new layouts or apartment projects without a specific value have to be referred to the committee for one.

News reports in 2026 described a proposed revision of Bengaluru values. We could not confirm from an official page whether it has been notified, so check the value that applies on the day you register.

The "higher of" rule

The 2019 audit puts it plainly: stamp duty under Article 20 (conveyance) is charged on the consideration or the market value, "whichever is higher". So:

• If your agreed price is above the guidance value, you pay on the price.
• If your agreed price is below it, you pay on the guidance value, even though you paid less.

Builders' discounts, festive offers and distress resale deals often land below the guidance value. The duty does not follow the discount.

What you pay on a sale deed

Three charges make up the bill:

• Stamp duty: 5% of the market value on a conveyance. The 2023 CAG report confirms the 5% conveyance rate when it says a power of attorney to sell is treated "at par with conveyance" at five per cent.
• Additional duty: section 3B of the Act charges additional duty on conveyances, gifts, exchanges, settlements and perpetual leases, for infrastructure, Bangalore Metro equity and rural roads. The 2023 CAG report gives it as ten per cent of the original duty, which is 0.5% of value.
• Registration fee: the 2019 and 2023 CAG reports both use 1% of market value, and the 2023 report says the old ₹1.5 lakh cap was removed in February 2018. Deccan Herald and law-firm notes report that the fee was raised to 2% from 31 August 2025. We could not open the government notification; the editor should confirm it.

The 2019 audit computes stamp duty "including cess" at 5.60%. The 5% duty and the 10% additional duty account for 5.5%. We could not trace the remaining 0.1% to an official text; it is usually described as a local-body surcharge.

A 2021 amendment was reported to cut duty for certain first sales of apartments valued up to ₹45 lakh. We could not read the official text, so ask the sub-registrar whether a lower rate applies to your deed.

Worked example: a 1,200 sq ft flat

Assume a resale flat of 1,200 sq ft. The agreed price is ₹95 lakh. The guidance value for the building is ₹8,500 per sq ft (an illustrative figure; look up the real one).

• Guidance value: 1,200 × ₹8,500 = ₹1,02,00,000.
• Duty base: higher of ₹95,00,000 and ₹1,02,00,000 = ₹1,02,00,000.
• Stamp duty at 5%: ₹1,02,00,000 × 0.05 = ₹5,10,000.
• Additional duty at 10% of duty: ₹5,10,000 × 0.10 = ₹51,000.
• Remaining 0.1% (unverified surcharge): ₹10,200. Total at 5.6% = ₹5,71,200.
• Registration fee at 1%: ₹1,02,000; at 2%: ₹2,04,000.

Charge	Registration fee 1%	Registration fee 2% (reported from 31 Aug 2025)
Stamp duty, additional duty and surcharge (5.6%)	₹5,71,200	₹5,71,200
Registration fee	₹1,02,000	₹2,04,000
Total to government	₹6,73,200	₹7,75,200
Total as % of the ₹95 lakh price paid	7.09%	8.16%

Because duty is charged on ₹1.02 crore rather than ₹95 lakh, this buyer pays ₹39,200 more in duty and surcharge (₹7,00,000 × 5.6%) than the price alone would suggest. If the same flat sold for ₹1.1 crore, the base would be the price, and the 5.6% would come to ₹6,16,000.

If the deed shows less than the value

Section 45A of the Act deals with undervalued instruments. If the registering officer believes the market value is not truly stated, the officer works out an estimate, using the Central Valuation Committee's published value where there is one, and tells the parties. If they do not pay duty on that figure, registration is held pending and the deed goes to the Deputy Commissioner. After hearing the parties, the Deputy Commissioner fixes the value and duty, "as far as may be within ninety days". The 2023 CAG report describes the same process at the District Registrar level.

So a deed that understates the price does not save duty. It delays your registration, and that holds up your loan disbursement and khata transfer.

Practical checks before you register

• Look up the guidance value for the exact project or survey number on the stamps department's Kaveri online services before you agree the price.
• Ask your lender which figure it will fund. Banks lend on their own valuation, and stamp duty is usually paid from your own money.
• Get the stamp duty and registration fee worked out on the department's calculator on the day, and compare it with your own arithmetic.
• A chartered accountant can tell you how a price below the guidance value is treated for the seller's and buyer's income tax.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice.