UPRERA recommends 2 percent relaxation in stamp duty

In a bid to spur some movement in the real estate sector, the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UPRERA) has written to the Uttar Pradesh government recommending a reduction of 2% in the stamp fee.

UPRERA chairman Rajiv Kumar said that the move is aimed at helping the realty sector recover from the crisis brought on by the pandemic and generate revenue for the state government.

“We have suggested that the stamp fee be reduced up to 2% across the state till August 31, 2021. The commission flagged the issue of giving some concession to the homebuyers so that they are encouraged to register their properties. A lot of unregistered property would be registered if the government gives some relief in stamp duty,” he said.

While the stamp duty in Uttar Pradesh is 7%, in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway areas it is 5% of the total property cost. The fee is charged at the time of execution of a lease deed or registry, which is required to transfer the property’s title.

According to officials of the department of stamps and registration, the recommendation, if accepted, will be a boon for the department, which has been lagging in revenue collection. In the first quarter, the department collected Rs 1,412 crore, which was just 24.7% of its target of Rs 5,727 crore. The collections remained low at Rs 1,365 crore in July, while in August the figure was Rs 1,301 crore as against the target of Rs 1,781.08 crore.

“The department had collected Rs 19,179 crore in 2019-20 and for 2020-21, we had been given a target of Rs 23,197 crore. But due to the pandemic, our revenue has gone down drastically. Our collections from April till September were Rs 5,259 crore. Last fiscal we had collected Rs 7,717.46 during the same period,” said an official, requesting anonymity.