Telangana Government mulls hiking Stamp Duty to replenish sinking coffers

Hyderabad: Soon after deciding to sell the costly Government lands, the Government is now set to enhance the stamp duty and property registration charges to improve the revenue generation to meet the financial requirements of the State.

Though the government had targeted Rs 13,000 crore revenue from the property registrations during the current financial year, the Covid crisis had hit hard the property registrations in May. Less than 50 per cent of the revenue target has been achieved last month and reaching monthly targets would be a daunting task as the realty sector is yet to recover from the impact of lockdown in the districts.

The government is of the view that if the registration charges are increased, revenue through stamp duty and registration would go up on account of the sale of costly government lands to be taken up soon.

The proposal to increase registration charges has been pending for three years. Due to continuous elections since 2018 in the State, the government had put on hold the enhancement of registration charges and market value of the lands.

A senior official said that the government is likely to increase the registration charges in a month or two. The official said that the sale of government land would not only help to revive the realty trade but will also help in increasing the revenue manifold.

This year, the property transactions would play a key role in the revival of the State's financial position. The authorities said that the Registration department was planning to implement reforms ensuring to curb corruption and 100 per cent transparency in the registration process.