Property Registration To Cost Less As Maharashtra Reduces Stamp Duty By 3%

Rates of property in Mumbai are set to fall, as the Maharashtra government, on August 26, 2020, decided to reduce the stamp duty by up to three per cent.  On property registrations till December 31, 2020, home buyers will have to pay only two per cent of the transaction value as the stamp duty. From January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021, property registrations in the city will attract a three per cent levy. 

It is important to note here that Mumbai is among the costliest real estate markets in the world, and despite an ongoing slowdown in India’s real estate sector, rates of property in the country’s financial capital have not moderated as much as buyers would have liked.  

Data available with PropTiger.com show, rates of property in the city have increased by five per cent in the past three years. This is in contrast with rates of property moderating in other big markets in the past five years. Data show a square foot of space in Mumbai costs a buyer an average of Rs 9,300.

The developer community has welcomed the state government move. 

"In a bid to resurrect from a continuous decline in the housing sales and revive the demand amid the worst hit COVID-19 pandemic, the Maharashtra government's great decision to temporarily cut stamp duty on flats from 5% to 2% till December 31, 2020 and 3% following that till March 31, 2021, is a welcome decision favouring the home buyers," says Rajan Bandelkar, President, NAREDCO-West.

This is a convenient time for buyers, considering that stamp duty has been reduced while property prices and bank loan rates are at a low... it is a win-win situation for both developers and homebuyers," Bandelkar adds.

Recall here that this is the second time this year that the state has announced reduction in stamp duty.  In March 2020, the state government reduced the stamp duty from six per cent to five percent, with an aim to nudge buyers into investing in real estate.