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Karnataka government slashes stamp duty on low-cost apartments
The cut comes at a time when real estate companies in Karnataka and especially in Bengaluru have requested for some relief to boost sales of unsold apartments in India's IT capital.
Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday proposed a 2% cut in stamp duty for apartments valued between ₹35-45 lakh in the state budget 2021-22.
"To promote affordable housing, the stamp duty for the first registration of apartments valued between ₹35 and ₹45 lakh is proposed to be reduced to 3% from 5%," he said on Monday.
The cut comes at a time when real estate companies in Karnataka and especially in Bengaluru have requested for some relief to boost sales of unsold apartments in India's IT capital.
The Covid-19 pandemic had exacerbated sluggish sales in the housing sector. The slowdown had led to poor sales and piling up inventory in the state capital. The target for stamps and registrations remains unchanged at ₹12, 655 crore, according to the budget document.
Yediyurappa has also kept excise rates unchanged after increasing rates on liquor twice last year.
The Yediyurappa government had also increased duty on liquor twice last year, registering a hike between 17-25%. Excise has been one of the biggest sources of revenue for Karnataka.
The target for excise was increased to ₹24,580 crore from around ₹22,700 crore last year.
The state has already collected ₹20,900 crore in excise revenue at the end of February.
In last year's budget, Yediyurappa had also resorted to increasing the rate on petrol from 32% to 35% and on diesel from 21% to 24%.
"The year 2020-21, due to Covid-19 pandemic, has caused untold miseries to the general public. I am not willing to put the burden of additional taxes on the common people," he said without raising state taxes on diesel and petrol.
