Demonetisation effect: Maharashtra stamp duty collection drops 37%

The union government’s recent decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, has hit stamp duty collection in Maharashtra, which is already down by 37% across the state, the Inspector General of Registration (IGR) and Controller of Stamps, N Ramaswamy revealed. The state government’s average daily earning through property registration charges and stamp duty, has come down to Rs 42 crore from Rs 65 crore earlier, he said.
“Although most of the transactions, such as calculation of ready reckoner, its stamp duty and payment, are done digitally as well as through demand drafts, still the collection has gone down. The IGR offices across the state generally handle 7,300 documents daily, which has now plunged to 4,000 documents,” he said.
The IGR office registers all types of property deals, including sale and purchase of land, properties, rent and lease agreements. It is the second-largest revenue generating department of the state government, after excise. The IGR office contributed Rs 21,767 crores to the state coffers in 2015-16 financial year.
“There is one fee called document handling fee, where Rs 20 per page is charged from the people who are buying it. People generally pay the amount in cash at the IGR office. Post demonetisation, I have issued a circular that the amount can be paid through demand draft. Still, the response is low,” said Ramaswamy.
Industry sources point out that a sizeable section of the total cost of a property is paid in cash and it never reflects on papers. Such deals have been badly hit after the government’s demonetisation move.
By: Housing.com/news