GPS, drone survey identifies tax evasion in 10,000 properties

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has detected large-scale property tax evasion of around ₹370 crore after a special technology-driven overhaul study covering nearly 10,000 properties across the city.

Special Commissioner (Revenue and IT) Munish Moudgil said the exercise was carried out by the GBA IT wing through special house-to-house visits in coordination with the National Informatics Center (NIC) and city corporate teams.

“Authorities used GPS-based property mapping, mobile apps and drone images to verify property details on the land and compare them with tax returns filed by property owners. The verification revealed that many property owners had been underpaying property taxes for an average of five years,” he said.

Mr. Moudgil said about 49,000 show-cause notices were generated for these 10,000 properties, roughly one for underpayment each year, seeking to recover the missed tax along with associated interest and penalties.

During the visit, team members captured the GPS location of each property, recorded whether it was residential, commercial, or mixed use, measured the area used for each purpose, and recorded the number of floors. This data is passed to a backend system where it undergoes 100% quality control review. Unconfirmed cases were sent back to field teams to be rechecked, he said.

Once cleaned, the data is cross-validated with drone-based imagery and digitized residential area records. If discrepancies are found, such as additional undeclared residential area or commercial use not reflected in tax returns, the system automatically generates justified notifications for tax evasion.

Property owners who received notices were given 15 days to respond or appeal online.

Mr Moudgil added that GPS teams were currently visiting around 10,000 properties each day and that more cases of smuggling were likely to be detected as the exercise continued.