Real estate rates in Mumbai have been slipping since September 2008 and are expected to drop further in 2009, but the taxes you pay when you buy a house will remain high as ever.
The reason? The state government’s Ready Reckoner for 2009 - the document is supposed to be a record of property prices as per market value and is used by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the stamp duty office to determine tax — reflects the 2008 rates before prices started falling.
Ramrao Shingare, inspector general of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps, said: “We do the survey for the Ready Reckoner till September, and prices had not started falling by then. That is why the property rates have not changed.”
Shingare said only those who buy homes in 2010 will get the benefit of lower taxes. “The slump will be registered only next year so the Ready Reckoner for 2010 will have lower rates,” he said.
Both builders, who are hoping sales will pick up, and buyers are unhappy with the rates in the Reckoner. “It is not fair that buyers have to pay extra money when the basis of taxation should be a little lower than the actual transaction rate,” said Sunil Mantri of Mantri Group of builders.
{{/usCountry}}Both builders, who are hoping sales will pick up, and buyers are unhappy with the rates in the Reckoner. “It is not fair that buyers have to pay extra money when the basis of taxation should be a little lower than the actual transaction rate,” said Sunil Mantri of Mantri Group of builders.
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