Bengaluru: The Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-Rera) has recovered Rs 1.5 crore in penalties from builders between April 1 and July 9, 2026, for not submitting mandatory quarterly progress and annual audit reports on time. The move is part of the regulator’s efforts to enforce compliance and improve transparency for homebuyers.The recovery comes days after K-Rera issued a circular on July 2 reinforcing its compliance drive and warning that recovery proceedings against defaulting promoters would begin on July 16. The circular follows earlier directions issued on Jan 20, Feb 7, Feb 20 and June 19, which established the framework for penalising delayed quarterly filings.Officials said through the reports, the authority can monitor the timelines and progress of registered projects, ensuring that developers adhere to approved schedules. This will help identify delays at an early stage and provide homebuyers with greater transparency on whether projects are progressing as promised and are likely to be completed on time.The authority reminded promoters that submission of quarterly updates is a statutory obligation under Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act-2016. Quarterly updates must be uploaded on the K-Rera portal within 15 days of the end of every quarter.For the fourth quarter of 2025-26, 2,344 projects were required to file Quarterly Progress Reports. Of these, 1,619 have submitted the reports. Similarly, 2,877 projects were required to submit annual audit reports for 2024-25, of which 2,073 have been filed. Officials said the remaining promoters are filing the quarterly returns after paying the prescribed penalties.For delayed submission of annual audit reports, K-RERA imposes penalties based on the estimated cost of the project. Projects costing below Rs 25 crore attract a fine of Rs 20,000, while those valued between Rs 25 crore and Rs 50 crore are fined Rs 25,000. The penalty is Rs 50,000 for projects costing between Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore, and Rs 1 lakh for projects with an estimated cost exceeding Rs 100 crore.The circular noted that the online filing facility has been available since the second quarter of 2018-19, but several promoters continue to miss deadlines. Invoking its powers, the authority has decided to levy a fixed penalty of Rs 25,000 for every quarter of delay or non-submission of quarterly updates during 2026-27, taking the annual penalty to Rs 1 lakh.Meanwhile, builders maintained that quarterly project progress report (QPR) filings are largely procedural and technical in nature. They said delays in filing do not necessarily indicate non-compliance or project irregularities, but often arise due to practical issues such as the non-availability of updated financial data, pending statutory certifications and the time required to compile detailed project information.A builder said: “Submitting these reports on time can sometimes be difficult as professionals handling certifications have multiple compliance responsibilities, especially during busy quarters. Delays can happen due to genuine reasons, such as data not being ready or mandatory certificates not being received on time. Such delays in quarterly filings are mainly procedural in nature and should not be treated the same way as major violations like project delays or failure to submit annual disclosures. It would be better if the authority check the nature of the delay to know whether it is serious non-compliance while deciding penalties.”However homebuyers welcomed the move, saying stricter enforcement of quarterly reporting as it would help in construction progress and identify delays at an early stage.Box: POINTS TO PONDERTotal no of Registered projects under K-Rera (as on July 9): 8,713Quarterly Progress Reports (Q4, 2025-26)Eligible projects: 2,344Reports submitted: 1,619Pending: 725Annual Audit Reports (2024-25)Eligible projects: 2,877Reports submitted: 2,073Pending: 804Source- K-Rera
