Can Anyone Buy Agricultural Land in Karnataka? 2026 Rules

Updated 17 October 2026. We read the guide that ranks first for this search (1acre.in) and the rest of page one. Most of them answer the yes-or-no question but stop there. They leave out the NRI rule, the 2025 conversion changes, the doubled registration fee, the September 2026 push to bring the old restrictions back, and the specific risks of 'managed farmland' sold around Bengaluru. This guide covers all of it.

What changed in 2020, and is it still the law?

Before 2020, Section 79A barred a person or family with assured non-agricultural income of ₹25 lakh a year from buying farmland. Section 79B allowed only people who personally cultivated land to hold it. Deccan Herald reported the Cabinet's decision to scrap these restrictions on 11 June 2020. The Law Minister then said many techies who wanted to invest in farming were blocked, and that 83,171 cases had been filed under the old sections in 45 years.

The change came first as an ordinance on 13 July 2020 and was then passed as the Karnataka Land Reforms (Second Amendment) Act. Bar & Bench's analysis notes that Sections 79A, 79B and 79C were omitted with effect from 1 March 1974, pending cases under them abated, and Section 80 was rewritten from a total bar on transfers to non-agriculturists into narrower restrictions on certain lands.

In R Raghu v G M Krishna (2025 INSC 1040), reported by Verdictum on 26 August 2025, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale held that the bar stood repealed in 2020 with retrospective effect from 1 March 1974.

• Political risk: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in August 2024 that the government would restore Sections 79A and 79B once it had a majority in the Legislative Council (Deccan Herald).
• Status today: as of 30 September 2026, The Week reported that the 2020 amendments remain in force. A Congress MLA had written to the party leadership on 29 September 2026 complaining that repeal, a 2023 manifesto promise, had not happened. He said about 19.92 lakh acres had changed hands since the restrictions were eased.
• What this means for you: buying is legal now. If a restoration law is passed later, read its transition clause before you sign. We found no draft bill.

How much farmland can one person or family hold?

The 2020 ordinance first proposed doubling the ceiling under Section 63. Deccan Herald reported on 3 November 2020 that the government withdrew that proposal after protests, so the old ceiling stays. 1acre.in summarises it this way:

• An individual or a family of up to five: 10 units, which is 10 acres of A-class (irrigated) land or 54 acres of D-class (dry) land.
• Larger families: more units per extra member, up to a cap of 20 units (20 acres of A-class or 108 acres of D-class).
• Holdings across all districts of Karnataka count together.
• A transaction that breaks the ceiling is void, and excess land can vest in the state.
• Family, for the Act, includes your spouse, minor sons and unmarried daughters (Bar & Bench).

Can NRIs or OCIs buy agricultural land in Karnataka?

No. This is a central rule, so Karnataka's 2020 change does not affect it. The RBI's FAQ on immovable property, which summarises the FEMA (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, lists purchase by NRIs and OCIs only for property 'other than agricultural land/ farmhouse/ plantation'. The same applies to gifts.

• Inheritance is allowed: an NRI or OCI may inherit any immovable property, farmland included.
• Selling inherited farmland: an NRI or OCI may sell or gift agricultural land only to a person resident in India.
• Repatriation: the RBI FAQ's repatriation provision for sale proceeds excludes agricultural land, farmhouses and plantation property.
• Buying through a resident relative's name to get around this is a benami arrangement. 1acre.in notes penalties of 1 to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to 25% of fair market value.

If you are abroad and want land near Bengaluru, a converted, RERA-registered plotted layout is the legal route. See NRI Buying Property in Bangalore (2026): FEMA Rules, Taxes, Repatriation and Documents and compare plotted options in Plots.

What does it cost to buy farmland? A worked example

Illustrative only. Say you buy 2 acres of farmland in Bengaluru Rural district at ₹50 lakh an acre, so ₹1 crore. Stamp duty is charged on the higher of the price or the guidance value. HomeFirst gives stamp duty of 5% above ₹45 lakh, cess of about 10% of the duty, and a surcharge of about 3% of the duty in rural areas. The registration fee doubled to 2% from 31 August 2025 (The South First).

• Stamp duty at 5%: ₹5,00,000.
• Cess at 10% of duty: ₹50,000.
• Rural surcharge at 3% of duty: ₹15,000.
• Registration fee at 2%: ₹2,00,000.
• Total: ₹7,65,000, or 7.65% of the price. Some guides still quote a 1% registration fee; that is out of date.
• Not included: advocate's title search, survey and sketch fees, and conversion fees if you later change land use. Check the guidance value for the survey number on the Kaveri portal first. The Hans India reported on 12 October 2026 that a guidance value revision of up to 35% is being prepared, and it named agricultural land categories. Timing is unconfirmed.

Can I build a farmhouse? Conversion rules after 2025

Owning farmland does not let you use it for anything else. A house, resort or layout needs land-use conversion under Section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act. Bar & Bench notes the 2020 amendment did not change this.

Two 2025 changes matter. Deccan Herald reported on 7 August 2025 that the Cabinet cleared a bill letting up to two acres be diverted for new industries without permission, exempting renewable energy projects, and replacing the jail term for selling farmland for non-agricultural use without approval with a ₹1 lakh penalty. Conventus Law reports that the Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Rules, 2025, effective September 2025, changed the procedure:

• Inside an approved master plan zone, where the use matches the zoning, the planning authority checks the papers, collects fees and issues a digitally signed conversion certificate. No prior Deputy Commissioner permission is needed.
• Outside master plan zones, the Deputy Commissioner should decide within 15 days. If there is no action in 30 days, the application is deemed approved.
• Applications need a notarised affidavit (Forms 21B and 21C), RTC and mutation extracts, a sketch and master plan extracts.
• Misuse can mean cancellation, forfeited fees, confiscation, fines of up to ₹1 lakh plus ₹2,500 a day, and an entry on the RTC.
• The two-acre exemption is for new industries, not for a weekend home. Do not assume a farmhouse is automatically allowed.

Which checks should I run before paying an advance?

• RTC (pahani): view it free on landrecords.karnataka.gov.in and buy a signed i-RTC from rtc.karnataka.gov.in. Check the owner's name, extent, land class, who cultivates it, and the remarks or liabilities column (Sobha's Bhoomi guide). How-to: Bhoomi, Kaveri 2.0 and e-Khata: How to Check Karnataka Land Records Online Before You Buy (2026)
• Mutation register: every ownership change by sale, inheritance or partition should show a completed mutation. Pending or disputed mutations are a stop sign.
• Title chain of at least 30 years, and an encumbrance check for loans or attachments (1acre.in).
• Granted land: if the land was ever granted to an SC or ST family, the PTCL Act applies. SCC Online explains that a 2023 amendment removed the limitation period for restoration claims, so a sale decades old can be reversed. A Deputy Commissioner's permission is needed for such land.
• Ceiling: make sure your family's total holding stays within the limit.
• Access and boundaries: get a fresh survey sketch and confirm a legal road to the plot.
• Zoning: check whether the survey number falls in a master plan zone and what use is allowed there.

Managed farmland near Bangalore: what are the risks?

Many 'managed farmland' offers near Bengaluru sell a slice of a large farm, with an operator planting and maintaining it. Some give you a registered title to a defined survey number. Others give you a share in an LLP or a pooled scheme. These are very different products.

Finshots reported in January 2024 that SEBI's interim order against one agri-investment platform treated its LLP-based farmland scheme as an unregistered collective investment scheme. The red flags SEBI cited were assured returns, pooled money that was not ring-fenced, and investors with no real control. The platform had not been found guilty; the order was interim.

• Insist on a registered sale deed in your name for a specific survey number and extent, with mutation into your name on the RTC.
• Walk away from 'assured return' or 'tax-free income' promises.
• Read the management contract: who pays costs, what happens if the operator exits, and whether you can sell to anyone.
• Ask how the farm-stay or villa promised in the brochure will be legal without conversion.
• Check that the whole farm is within ceiling limits and is not granted land.
• Compare with a converted plot in a RERA-registered layout, where the approvals are on record: Plots vs Apartments in Bangalore: Which Builds More Wealth

Farmland or a converted plot: which suits you?

Farmland suits buyers who want to farm, plant, or hold land for the long term and can handle revenue paperwork. A converted plot in an approved layout suits buyers who want to build soon, need a loan, or may sell to an NRI later. Approved layouts and the authority behind each are explained in BDA vs BMRDA vs BIAAPA Approved Layouts: Which Authority Governs Your Plot?. For RERA-registered plotted options in North Bengaluru, see Century Trails Devanahalli or Salarpuria Sattva Serene Life Devanahalli, and for the bigger weekend-estate picture, Buying a Farmhouse or Weekend Estate Near India's Big Cities.