Maharashtra revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat hinted that the state economy is gradually returning to normalcy. He said that in October 2021, the state received Rs3,200 crore in revenue through stamp duty which is the highest ever in a month. He clarified that the state does not plan to give concession on stamp duty. Thorat was addressing a press conference in Pune after attending the ‘revenue conference’ at the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA).
“During the pandemic of course, there was a lot of impact on the state revenue. Revenue received from stamp duty is a major source of income for us. In the beginning, offices were closed and it had a lot of impact. Then we took the decision of waiving stamp duty for five months and it yielded a lot of good results. Now things are gradually getting back to normal. In October 2021, we received the highest revenue so far from stamp duty of Rs3,200 crore. This is the highest so far,” Thorat said.
The Maharashtra government on August 26, 2020 decided to temporarily reduce stamp duty on housing from 5% to 2% till December 31, 2020. From January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021, stamp duty was increased from 2% to 3%. During FY2021-22, stamp duty was reinstated to 5%. Asked whether the state government is considering slashing stamp duty again, Thorat said there are no such plans as of now.
“This decision (on stamp duty) proved to be a crucial one. On a national level too, it was appreciated that the decision helped restart the economic wheel. People completed their pending transactions. So even after giving concession, we received more revenue,” Thorat said. He claimed that the revenue department has been trying to promote online transactions and procedures. He also said that in the next six months, major reforms in land measurement procedures will be visible.
{{/usCountry}}“This decision (on stamp duty) proved to be a crucial one. On a national level too, it was appreciated that the decision helped restart the economic wheel. People completed their pending transactions. So even after giving concession, we received more revenue,” Thorat said. He claimed that the revenue department has been trying to promote online transactions and procedures. He also said that in the next six months, major reforms in land measurement procedures will be visible.
{{/usCountry}}“We are trying to bring in a lot of transparency in property registration procedures. We are now insisting that developers who have RERA registration should do it online from their offices. You will see a lot of changes in coming months in the land measurement procedures as well,” Thorat said.