Registered a Flat? The Sub-Registrar's Report May Already Be in Your AIS

Buyers in Bangalore are sometimes surprised to find a new flat already listed in the tax department's records. They did nothing to put it there. The registration office reports larger deals on its own, and the details land in the buyer's Annual Information Statement, or AIS.

The Duty to Report

Certain bodies send the department a statement of financial transactions (SFT) each year. For property, the sender is the registration department, through its Inspector-General's office, registrars and sub-registrars, using form no. 165. The older law placed this in section 285BA and rule 114E, and since the new Act took effect it is covered by section 508 of the 2025 Act with the details in rule 237 of the 2026 rules.

The department has until 31 May following the financial year to receive the statement. Buyers and sellers make no filing. The department uses the reports to compare purchases with declared earnings.

What Gets Reported

Three kinds of document are caught: sales of land or buildings, gifts of them, and joint development agreements. The trigger is a value of at least Rs. 45 Lakhs, tested on the price or on the stamp-duty valuation. In Karnataka that valuation means the guidance value, so even a flat priced under the limit is reported when the guidance value reaches it.

Through March 2026 the trigger was lower, at Rs. 30 Lakhs, and the report carried the code SFT-012. A Rs. 32 Lakh flat bought in 2025-26 was thus reported, whereas the same deal in June 2026 normally would not be. The typical apartment in the city clears either number comfortably.

Why It Takes Time to Show

An entry rarely appears at once. Registration offices file after the books close, so a deed signed in June 2026 becomes visible only after the filing made by 31 May 2027 has been processed. Anyone who checks the AIS a week after registering will find nothing.

When the item arrives, it normally shows the reporting office, the document date, the sale value, the valuation figure and both parties' PANs. For a jointly owned flat, see how the value is divided. Some entries put the full value against every co-owner.

Opening the AIS

The AIS is on the department's e-filing website and lists items that other bodies report against a taxpayer's PAN. That covers salary, bank interest, share trades and property. The Taxpayer Information Summary is a shorter view that groups the same data by return heads.

Look at it before filing the return for the purchase year and again next year. Four steps cover the check:

1. Sign in to the portal and choose the AIS for the year of registration.
2. Find the property line among the SFT items and put it beside the sale deed.
3. Match the amount, the date and the PAN, one by one.
4. If something is wrong, submit feedback through the link next to the entry.

Feedback options include confirming the item, calling it partly wrong, assigning it to another PAN or year, or flagging a duplicate. For registrar items, the reply goes to the reporting office to confirm. The portal then shows the original and revised values side by side.

Does a Report Invite a Query?

A report alone is routine. A question arises only when the purchase seems out of proportion to the income and funds the buyer has shown, and the department then asks online how the property was financed.

A buyer who relied on borrowing, personal savings, proceeds from an old flat or money gifted by parents can answer easily, given the papers. Section 92(2)(m) taxes a price well below the guidance value in the buyer's hands, so both numbers in the entry count. The system is aimed at payments in cash outside the deed.

Other Trails From the Same Purchase

A purchase leaves other records too. These should tell the same story:

• The buyer's 1% deduction on Form 141, once the price or valuation reaches Rs. 50 Lakhs and the seller is a resident
• Tax deducted by the buyer when the seller is a non-resident, at any value
• The lender's yearly certificate of loan interest and principal
• The seller's capital gains, shown in the seller's own return

The buyer's deduction shows in the seller's account as a credit. If the deed and the deduction form carry different prices, the two records clash, so use one figure in both.

Papers Worth Keeping Together

Keeping everything in one place answers most later queries. Collect these:

• The registered deed, plus the agreement for sale
• The loan sanction letter and each disbursement statement
• Bank statements that trace what was paid to the seller or builder
• For family help, a gift deed or signed letter plus the donor's statement
• Sale papers and the gains working for any property sold to fund this one
• Form 141 and the certificate given to the seller

Taxpayers earning over Rs. 1 Crore also enter immovable property in the schedule of assets, and its cost should match the deed. The EMI calculator can help plan how much to borrow and how much to put in.

Sellers and Non-Residents

The seller's PAN is in the same report, so a sale shows up in the seller's AIS too. The gain belongs in that year's return even where an exemption cuts the tax to nil. Non-resident parties are reported the same way, and details for overseas buyers are on the NRI page.