Sena opposes govt’s decision to hike stamp duty on gift deeds
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has opposed the state Cabinet’s decision to hike stamp duty on gift deeds and conveyance deeds. Sena minister Ramdas Kadam and Diwakar Raote wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis saying that the party was not happy with the decision and will agitate against it till it is withdrawn.
With the aim to increase revenue from stamp duty, the state government on Tuesday has decided to charge 3% of the ready reckoner rates of land as stamp duty if a flat is gifted to a blood relation. The amount currently is barely Rs 200 or Rs 500 depending on the nature of the plot.
For instance, if there is a 1,000 sq-ft flat in Chembur where the land rate is Rs 81,000 per sq mtr and it is being transferred between blood relations, the stamp duty as per the new amendment will be Rs 2.40 lakh.
Kadam said, “We were in Vidarbha for Shiv Sampark Abhiyan and returned to Mumbai late night on Tuesday. Hence, we did not get sufficient time to study the decision.”
He added, “We have written to the CM and urged him to scrap the decision. The party will not tolerate decisions which are against the interests of the common people. The party will launch and agitation if the government does not cancel it immediately.”
Meanwhile, minister for revenue Chandrakant Patil clarified that the government hiked the stamp duty in periurban and corporation areas equally. “Stamp duty in Mumbai metropolitan city will remain five per cent as earlier.”
BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, “Earlier, the stamp duty in peri-urban area was five per cent whereas in corporation areas it was four per cent. Now, it will five per cent in both the areas.”
By approving it, the Cabinet has overturned another decision by former revenue minister Eknath Khadse, who had done away with stamp duty on gift deeds. Before Khadse’s tenure, the government was charging 2% of the land value on gift deeds. The relevant amendment in Section 34 of the stamp duty Act is expected to fetch up to an additional Rs 200 crore in revenue.
An amendment will also be carried out in sec tion 25 to increase duty on conveyance deeds in rural and peri-urban areas of the state.