Maharashtra to fall short of projected stamp duty revenue

The decline has been very pronounced in Mumbai — one of the top realty markets in the country — at 39 per cent from registration of properties compared to 29.9 per cent across the state in eight registration circles. Against a daily average of Rs 20 crore in stamp duty collections between April 1 and November 8, the capital city could manage a meagre Rs 12 crore in daily collections post demonetisation, according to officials.

The Department of Registration and Stamps, Maharashtra, which analysed the data Tuesday confirmed that the slide was sharpest in Mumbai followed by Pune. The annual target set this year for stamp duty is Rs 23, 548 crore. “Now it looks difficult,” said N Ramaswamy, Inspector General of Registration (IGR) and Controller of Stamps. “Last year, we covered Rs 21,767 crore against the target of Rs 21,000 crore,” he said.

In terms of revenue realisation, Mumbai is way ahead of other cities and towns in the state. Against the ready reckoner rates — a benchmark based on actual sales in a specific market radius — the state had pegged its target higher this time.

“We had raised our ready reckoner rates by only 6 per cent but the government had increased our targets by 12 per cent. The demonetisation now will impact this target. We will now have to further analyse how and to what extent. In terms of documents too, we are short by 38 per cent,” said Ramaswamy.

The corresponding daily average figures for Pune stood at Rs 12 crore till November 8, and Rs 9 crore
post demonetisation (27 per cent decline). Compared to a daily average of Rs 12.6 crore, Thane recorded Rs 13 crore daily (3 per cent hike), said officials.

The decline in registrations and revenue has come as a jolt, especially because there appeared to be a bit of a rebound in the realty market in October. Compared to collections of Rs 1,608 crore in August and Rs 1,700 crore in September, collections rose to Rs 1,908 crore in October, following a good Diwali sale and new launches.

Overall, against a total collections of Rs 58.3 crore till November 8 across the state, the average collection post demonetisation is now Rs 41.27 crore daily.