West Bengal has extended the two percent exemption on stamp duty and a 10 percent reduction in circle rates of property in the state until March 31, 2023, a government order stated on December 29.
The order from the West Bengal Finance Department (revenue) said, "Now, in the interest of public service and also considering the interest of homebuyers, it has been decided by the government in the finance department to further extend benefits of Notification No. 1281-F.T dated October 30, 2021, and Notification No. 1282-F.T dated October 30, 2021, to March 31, 2023."
The existing relief was ending on December 31, 2022. It was previously extended by the state government due to the economic slowdown caused by the Covid pandemic.
Realtors relieved
Sushil Mohta, president of Credai West Bengal and Chairman, Merlin Group said the real estate sector has been doing well because of the rebate extended by the government. "We hope that the total collection this year should cross Rs 8,000 crore by March 2023 against Rs 7,000 crore last year," he said.
"Today, several people are coming forward for registration of deeds. They did transactions about 20-25 years back but did not register. Therefore, it is a 'win-win' situation for all the stakeholders -- the government, the public at large and the developers," he added.
As of December 29, about 1,85,788 sale deeds have been registered in the state, data from the Directorate of Registration and Stamp Revenue reveals.
Additionally, 3,047 residential sales agreements were registered in November 2022, a 167 percent jump from November 2021.
Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) has witnessed the registration of 6,788 residential sales agreements in October 2022, a Knight Frank report says. "The monthly property registration volume marks a 45 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth over October 2021. On a month-on-month basis, there is a 17 percent upswing as the delay in property registrations in September due to Durga Puja festivities got spilled over to October 2022," the report added.
Moreover, realtors say, that amid inflating interest rates, the existing relief will be a good compensation for homebuyers, who will also benefit from lower stamp duty.
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