KARNATAKA ASSEMBLY PASSES BILL TO REGULATE OUTDOOR ADVERTISING AND BOOST CIVIC REVENUE

Karnataka’s Assembly has passed a Bill to regulate outdoor advertising, mandating permissions and enabling municipal bodies to levy fees on hoardings. The move targets illegal displays, introduces penalties and interest on dues, and is expected to generate substantial revenue while strengthening urban governance and compliance.

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly has passed a significant amendment Bill aimed at regulating outdoor advertisements and strengthening the financial base of urban local bodies across the state. The legislation, adopted on Monday, introduces a structured framework for managing hoardings, billboards and other advertising displays within municipal limits.

Moved by B S Suresha, the Karnataka Municipalities and Certain Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, grants municipal councils and corporations the authority to levy advertisement fees on individuals and organisations displaying promotional material on land, buildings, walls and other structures. The move is seen as a decisive step towards formalising a largely unregulated sector while enhancing civic revenues.

Under the new framework, local bodies will have the power to determine advertisement fees through resolutions, subject to minimum and maximum limits prescribed by the state government. This provision allows municipalities to tailor fee structures to their specific urban contexts while remaining within broader regulatory boundaries.

A key feature of the legislation is the requirement for prior written permission from the relevant municipal authority before any advertisement can be displayed. Applicants must also pay the prescribed fee, failing which permission can be denied. Authorities are further empowered to reject applications if proposed displays violate municipal by-laws, reinforcing compliance with urban planning norms.

At the same time, the Bill provides certain exemptions, notably for advertisements related to municipal meetings and election processes, including candidature announcements. This ensures that essential public communication and democratic activities remain unhindered by the new regulatory requirements.

The amendment also introduces stringent measures to tackle unauthorised hoardings, a persistent issue in many urban areas. Municipal authorities are now empowered to remove or demolish illegal advertisements. Officials can issue notices to property owners or occupiers, directing them to remove unauthorised displays. In cases of non-compliance, authorities are permitted to enter premises and carry out enforcement actions directly.

To deter violations, the Bill prescribes penalties and fines for unauthorised advertisements. It also imposes an annual interest rate of 18 per cent on delayed payments, calculated from the due date. In a further tightening of enforcement, municipal bodies are authorised to recover dues using mechanisms similar to property tax recovery, including the seizure and sale of advertisement materials if necessary.

Importantly, the legislation includes a retrospective validation clause, which deems previous levies and collections of taxes, cess or fees by municipal bodies as lawful, even if they were challenged or struck down in courts. This provision is expected to protect past revenue collections from legal uncertainties.

Defending the move in the Assembly, Suresha emphasised that the amendment is designed to curb the proliferation of illegal hoardings while ensuring that all advertisers contribute fairly to civic finances. He pointed out that many unauthorised displays currently generate no revenue for the government, despite occupying valuable urban space.

“Those who have put up boards unauthorisedly are not paying even one rupee in tax. We will remove such boards and take action against them. We will also bring them under the tender process so that the government gets revenue,” he said during the debate.

The minister further indicated that the policy could potentially generate “hundreds of crores” in revenue for local bodies, providing a significant boost to urban infrastructure and services. The amendment is therefore positioned not only as a regulatory reform but also as a fiscal strategy to empower municipalities and improve urban governance across Karnataka.