Stuck E-Khata Application in Bangalore: The Five-Day Rule and Resale Buyer Steps

A buyer in Bangalore may agree on the price, line up the loan and still find the deal frozen by one missing document: the digital khata of the property being sold. A new rule from March 2026 promises relief, since applications left pending too long now get approved by the system. Here is how that works, how to chase a slow file, and why approval alone does not make a record trustworthy.

The New Five-Day Window

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) announced that an application for a final digital khata, if nobody acts on it for five working days, is approved by the system. Owners had been complaining that revenue staff left files untouched and never said why. A senior GBA official, the Special Commissioner for revenue, noted that nearly all applications, around 99%, were being finished in four or five working days.

Earlier reforms prepared the ground. Applications are distributed to revenue officers randomly, and everything is done online, so nobody has to visit an office. By January 2026 over 9 lakh applications had arrived, more than 99% were closed, and the typical file took about two days.

The window covers final applications, in which the owner merely confirms an entry stored in the digital register. Cases involving a change of ownership or a correction run longer, and the GBA's January 2026 statement mentioned 10 to 15 days. Any file returned by an officer with a query stays stuck with the applicant until the reply is filed.

Why Registration Cannot Proceed Without It

The registration system for any property inside city corporation limits takes its details from the final record. A draft version or an old paper khata therefore cannot support a sale deed, whether the property is a flat, a house or a site.

A late record disturbs a good deal beyond the registration date. Banks release home loans at registration, sanction letters expire, and a seller who still owes a bank needs the sale money to close that loan. The agreement should reflect all this.

Looking Up the Status

An application number is issued at submission, and the property has its own ePID. Either one gives the status on the e-Aasthi portal. Buyers do better to open the status page with the seller beside them than to accept a screenshot.

First note the submission date, because the clock starts there. Then read the status wording, which may be pending, queried or approved. Finally see what kind of application it is, since transfers and corrections take longer than a straightforward final entry.

When the Clock Runs Out

Paperwork beats phone calls. Count working days from submission, leaving out Sundays and holidays, and check whether an officer's query is waiting for an answer. If none is, lodge a complaint through the authority's helpdesk for e-khata issues, quoting the application number along with when it was submitted.

Should the complaint lead nowhere, approach the ward's revenue office under the relevant city corporation. Keep every acknowledgement and complaint number with the sale papers, and download the record as soon as it is issued so that it can be compared with the deed before a registration date is fixed.

The GBA has told owners not to pay middlemen, since nothing in the workflow needs one. Anyone promised a faster result in return for cash is better off using the helpdesk.

Reading the Record Once It Arrives

A time limit speeds things up without checking facts, so errors in the old register or in the application can flow through to the approved entry. Buyers should compare it line by line with the title documents and the encumbrance record.

The details worth matching are owner names with their spellings, covering all co-owners, plus the plot dimensions and constructed area. Add the address, ward and ePID, whether the property is on the A register or the B register, and the tax application number with the latest receipt.

Fixing a mismatch before the sale is straightforward, as the current owner still holds the application. After registration the job falls on the buyer and can slow down the khata transfer. Remember too that this record concerns tax, not ownership, which a lawyer should confirm separately.

What the Agreement Can Say

The subject should come up before any token money is paid. If the owner already holds the final record in the proper name, it can be produced on the spot, and if the application is pending, the agreement can describe that situation and its effects.

Terms that buyers often add commit the seller to obtain the record before registration, and push the registration date back by the number of days of delay. They also tie balance payment and loan release to the record, with no advance beyond the token until then. Finally, they let the buyer walk away with the whole advance back if the record is missing on an agreed date.

Inform the lender early, because a sanction letter lasts only a limited time. Should a delay move the loan into a period of higher rates, the EMI calculator will redo the monthly figures.

Where the Rule Does Not Reach

The five-day window belongs to the city corporations' e-Aasthi portal. In a gram panchayat the property record is an e-Swathu entry (Form 9 and Form 11A), while farmland is recorded in an RTC. Different offices issue those, on their own timelines.

When it is unclear which office handles a property, find out before anything else. To get help with such a check on a home listed here, write through the contact page.