Jharkhand Woos Women With Re 1 Stamp Duty, Centre Keen To Waive These Charges In Other States

A study by the National Association of Realtors, United States, revealed that more single women are buying property than single men. In 2016, of the total buyers, 17 per cent were single women while only seven per cent were single men. India, too, in several ways is trying to encourage women home buyers to come forwards and make property purchases.

Take for example the Jharkhand government's move to slash stamp duty for women.

The ruling party in Jharkhand has proposed that it would formulate a law by which registration of properties in a woman's name will just cost Re 1. The current rate of registration in Jharkhand stands at seven per cent of the property value. Reportedly, the government would have to let go Rs 100 crore but considers it a worthy cause.

But, it is not just women the authorities are targeting. They are planning to bring down stamp duty charges for everyone to make realize Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Housing for All by 2022 dream.

“We have engaged with some state governments on how they could reduce stamp duty for affordable housing. If they accept it, stamp duty and registration charges should come down significantly. Such a reduction will bring down their margin money and provide relief to many Indians for whom owning a home is still an aspiration,” Sriram Kalyanaraman, MD of the National Housing Bank (NHB) was quoted by media saying.

If things work as planned, charges may fall to 5 to 6 per cent of the basic cost of an apartment. Stamp duty in India varies between 7 to 12.5 per cent.

More good news

Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has said that rates under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime would be kept reasonable for affordable housing.

"The proposed implementation of Goods & Services Tax will not increase prices of real estate, especially of affordable housing. We have already exempted affordable housing from service tax, and my ministry is addressing the need to continue this exemption under GST,” Business Standard quoted him.

Reportedly, the ministry has already written to state governments to exempt affordable homes from stamp duty. Just like in Jharkhand's case, stamp duty, registration charge waivers will cost the government's coffers. Therefore, the NHB is associating is looking to develop a model that will help raise revenue in other ways and not through stamp duty or registration charges.

How much does stamp duty add to your cost of property?

Additional costs can jack up property values by 10 per cent. If a property costs Rs 50 lakh, its stamp duty would be anywhere between 5-7 per cent which could go up to Rs 3.5 lakh and the registration can cost 2 per cent, which is Rs 1 lakh, estimates Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar.com. A rationalisation of such costs would mean a significant relief to prospective home buyers while giving an additional boost to Housing For All 2022.

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