Govt cuts duty on new apts below Rs 35 lakh

In a move aimed at making the ailing realty sector buoyant, the state government on Tuesday decided to slash stamp duty on new apartments that cost up to Rs 35 lakh.

The government also hopes that this will give a boost to affordable housing.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa took this decision during a meeting to review the progress of the Stamps and Registration department.

The stamp duty on apartments costing less than Rs 20 lakh getting registered for the first time will be cut from the existing 5% to 2%. Further, the stamp duty on apartments costing between Rs 21 lakh and Rs 35 lakh will be down from 5% to 3%.

In his 2020-21 Budget, Yediyurappa had announced the reduction in stamp duty only for new apartments that cost less than Rs 20 lakh. A new category has been included keeping in mind the Covid-19 crisis.

In fact, officials informed the chief minister that the Stamps and Registration department might fall short of its revenue target by Rs 3,524 crore this fiscal because of the Covid-19 lockdown. The revenue target for 2020-21 is Rs 12,655 crore.

Property registration was hit because of the lockdown and all sub-registrar offices were allowed to resume operations after being closed for nearly a month following enforcement of the statewide lockdown on March 24.

Yediyurappa also took stock of the Swamitva Yojana, under which drones will be used to survey properties in villages. Some 16,000 villages have been identified in the state where people will be given property cards based on the drone survey.

The CM also directed officials to set up land tribunals at 164 taluks.