Maharashtra collects 37 pc less stamp duty

Mumbai: Stamp duty collection in Maharashtra has dropped by 37 per cent after the Centre demonetised high-value notes, a senior official said on November 18.

The Union government's decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was announced 10 days back and stamp duty collection is already down by 37 per cent across the state, Inspector General of Registration (IGR) and Controller of Stamps N Ramaswamy told PTI.

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.

"Though 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 crore 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. In post demonetisation period, I have issued a circular that the amount can be paid through demand draft. Still, the response is low," said the IAS officer.

Industry sources said a sizeable section of the total cost of a property is paid in cash and it never reflects on papers. Such deals are badly hit after the government's demonetisation move.