Government Guidance Value / Sub-Registrar Value
The minimum property valuation fixed by the state government, determining the stamp duty and registration charges payable on a transaction.
In Kannada: ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ ಮೌಲ್ಯ·Also known as: guidance value · sub-registrar value · government value · stamp duty value · circle rate Karnataka · SR value
How we know this: we retrieve the Guideline Value from Kaveri Online for clients every working day, so the steps, failure modes and workarounds below are what the portal actually does — not a summary of its documentation.
Shubham Tiwadi is a partner at Anashwar Property Solutions in Vijayapura. His team operates the retrieval systems that pull Karnataka land records directly from the Bhoomi, Kaveri Online and e-Aasthi portals, and handles title verification for buyers across Vijayapura district.
The Guideline Value (ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ ಮೌಲ್ಯ), also known as the Guidance Value or Sub-Registrar Value, is the minimum estimated market value of a property fixed by the Department of Stamps and Registration, Government of Karnataka. It is published area-wise, street-wise, or survey number-wise across the state. The government revises these rates periodically to align them with actual market rates. The Guideline Value serves as the absolute baseline for property transactions; it is illegal to register the sale of a property for a consideration amount lower than its officially notified Guideline Value.
Guideline Value dictates your transaction costs. Stamp duty (typically around 5% in Karnataka), the registration fee (2% since 31 August 2025, doubled from 1%), and applicable cess/surcharges are calculated as a percentage of the registered sale value OR the Guideline Value, whichever is higher. If you buy a property for ₹50 Lakhs, but the government Guideline Value for that area is ₹70 Lakhs, you must pay stamp duty on ₹70 Lakhs. Checking the value beforehand is essential for accurately budgeting for a property purchase and avoiding surprise shortfalls at the Sub-Registrar's office. It also prevents notices from the Income Tax department regarding under-reported transactions.
Step by step
Go to the Kaveri Online Services portal (kaverionline.karnataka.gov.in).
Look for the 'Know Your Valuation' or 'Guideline Value Search' tool on the homepage.
Select the District and the specific Sub-Registrar Office (SRO) jurisdiction.
Choose the search type: Basic (by village/area) or Advanced (by specific property attributes).
Select the Village/Area from the dropdown, and narrow down to the specific street or survey number.
The portal will display the rate per square meter. Convert this to square feet or acres as needed to calculate the total minimum value.
The official portal is Kaveri Online Services kaveri.karnataka.gov.in (Department of Stamps and Registration). We fetch from it on your behalf — you never need to register there.
Anashwar Docs runs this sequence for you against the government portal and returns the PDF in 5 min. Request it on WhatsApp.
What goes wrong
Confusing 'Rate per Sq Meter' with 'Rate per Sq Foot'. Kaveri typically displays values in square meters for urban plots. You must convert accurately (1 Sq M = 10.76 Sq Ft) to avoid massive miscalculations.
Ignoring property attributes. Corner plots, properties on wide main roads, and commercial properties have a premium added to the base guideline value (often 10% to 25% higher).
Assuming the guideline value is the market value. In prime areas, the actual market price can be double the guideline value; in slow markets, the guideline value might actually exceed the negotiated price.
Failing to account for building value. For a house, you calculate the land value based on the guideline rate AND add the depreciated construction value of the building. The stamp duty is on the total.
Not checking for recent revisions. The government occasionally hikes guideline values overnight. Always check the current live rate on Kaveri right before purchasing stamp paper.
Fix errors fast
| Symptom on Kaveri Online | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| My street is not listed in the Kaveri dropdown | Look for the encompassing village, layout name, or a generic 'Other Streets' category for that ward. If unsure, the SRO will apply the highest rate of the adjacent streets. |
| Market price is lower than the Guideline Value | You still must pay stamp duty on the Guideline Value. Additionally, both buyer and seller may face Income Tax scrutiny (under Section 50C/56(2)) for transacting below government rates. |
| Cannot calculate value for an apartment | Apartments are usually valued on 'Super Built-up Area'. Look for the specific apartment project name in the Kaveri list, as many large projects have dedicated notified rates. |
| Value displayed is in Hectares | Agricultural land is often valued per Acre or Hectare. Use a standard converter (1 Hectare = 2.47 Acres = 100 Guntas) to find your parcel's value. |
| Unsure about the 'Corner Site' premium | Most SROs add a 10% premium to the land value if the property abuts two intersecting roads. Factor this into your stamp duty budget. |
| Website is down and I need the rate today | Visit the local Sub-Registrar's office. A printed, bound copy of the latest Guideline Value notification is always available for public inspection at the enquiry counter. |
Guideline value is published per village and per street by the Department of Stamps and Registration and is read from the Kaveri Online guideline-value search. You need the district, the SRO (sub-registrar office) that covers the property, and the village or street name. Agricultural land is quoted per acre or per gunta and converted land per square foot, so confirm which unit the published rate uses before multiplying — a per-acre rate read as per-gunta understates the value by a factor of 40.
The Guideline Value is the minimum property value fixed by the State Government. It acts as the absolute floor price for property registration; you cannot register a sale deed for a value lower than this rate. It determines the minimum stamp duty and registration fees payable on a transaction.
Stamp duty is generally 5% of the registered value or guideline value (whichever is higher), plus a registration fee of 2% — the registration fee was doubled from 1% with effect from 31 August 2025, its first revision since 2003, so any quote that totals 6.6% is out of date. A surcharge (2% urban, 3% gram panchayat) and a 10% cess are charged on the duty itself, not on the value, adding roughly 0.6%. All in, a property above ₹45 lakh in a city costs about 7.6% of the value at the Sub-Registrar office. Verify the exact figure on Kaveri at pre-registration.
The Sub-Registrar will still calculate and demand stamp duty based on the official Guideline Value, regardless of your actual purchase price. Furthermore, under the Income Tax Act, transacting below the guideline value can lead to the difference being treated as taxable income for both the buyer and the seller.
No. The Guideline Value is a government-mandated minimum for taxation purposes. The Market Value is the actual price a buyer is willing to pay. In most active real estate markets, the actual market value is significantly higher than the government guideline value.
For vacant land, the value is calculated purely on the land area (sq ft or sq m). For independent houses, it is the land value PLUS the estimated construction cost. For apartments, the government often publishes a flat 'per square foot' rate based on the super built-up area of the flat, which bundles the undivided share of land (UDS) and construction value.
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Guides
The number agents quote is never the number the SRO collects. Here is how the duty, surcharge, cess and registration fee stack up in Karnataka, what they are charged on, and where to pay.
A complete guide to checking property guideline values on Kaveri Online Services, calculating stamp duty, and understanding how notified hedge rates affect your real estate transactions in Karnataka.
Anashwar Docs
Message our desk on WhatsApp. We will check the requirements for your Guideline Value and get back to you.