Multiple state government cuts stamp duty to promote affordable housing

Several policies are being undertaken across various states to reduce the stamp duty in India.

The Karnataka government suggested that the stamp duty for apartment registration be reduced by 2%; Maharashtra proposed to offer a stamp duty rebate of 1% to the women homeowners.

Karnataka

While presenting the state budget, chief minister Yediyurappa said that this is an initiative to promote the ‘housing for all’ policy. This policy is going to be effective during fiscal 2021-2022.

The CM further said that the Covid-19 in 2020-2021 caused great miseries to the people. The people of Karnataka suffered a lot during this pandemic. Hence, he is not interested in mounting the burden of increased taxes on the people.

The stamp duty in India is a cause of worry because the leveraged amount is a lot. The government proposed a reduction in stamp duty from 5% to 3%. This concession on stamp duty is for apartment registration and will be effective towards the mid-range apartments, priced between thirty-five to forty lakh rupees.

The Covid-19 pandemic hampered purchases in the housing industry and led the real estate industry to almost come to a standstill. This cut comes amid when real estate companies in Karnataka, particularly in Bengaluru, have asked for some respite to attract customers towards unpurchased apartments in the IT capital.

The Budget made a target of Rs twelve thousand six hundred fifty-five crore for the department of state stamps and registration. The government is expecting to achieve this target in the coming fiscal 2021-2022.

The pandemic led to a decrease in house sales and stockpiling in the state capital. That is why the targeted amount for the state stamps and registration did not change compared to the previous year.

The CM said that the Department received Rs nine thousand fourteen crores through stamps and registrations from across the state until February. They could not meet the annual target set of Rs 12,655 crore for 2020-21 because of the unprecedented pandemic.

Maharashtra

The Maharashtra government announced a 1 percent concession onstamp duty over the existing rate specifically for women homeowners.

The Maharashtra state government budget announcement took place on International women’s day. It is an effort to reduce stamp duty in India. The finance minister Ajit Pawar said that a new policy would be effective in Maharashtra to commemorate this day. This policy would allow female homebuyers to avail a concession of one percent on stamp duty if and only if the transferred property is in the lady’s name. Finance Minister and the deputy CM introduced a revenue deficit budget of around ten thousand crores in front of the State Legislative Assembly.

Though revenue collection in the upcoming fiscal year was projected at around 3.68 lakh crore, revenue spending estimation stood at Rs 3.79 lakh crore.

The COVID-19 had an immense effect on the economy of Maharashtra, Pawar said. He further added that the tax revenue projection is around Rs 2.18 lakh crore in the revised 2020-21 estimates.

Given the present sluggish growth in the national and state economies, it will be hard to accomplish the revised revenue projections. But the government will leave any stone unturned to achieve the revised target, the finance minister remarked. Due to this reduction alone, there would be a revenue deficit of about a thousand crore rupees.

However, Real estate developers claimed that this decision would further improve housing demand in the state. There is a large segment of women homeowners and buyers in the real estate industry. With an increasing number of females entering the workforce, they are becoming prime decision-makers. The policy would help women empowerment and is an ideal gift on International Women’s Day for lady homebuyers.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are for informational purposes only based on industry reports and related news stories. PropertyPistol does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information and shall not be held responsible for any action taken based on the published information.