Maharashtra waives stamp duty on transfer of flat or land to heirs

TNN | Mar 26, 2015, 12.58 AM IST

MUMBAI: Immovable property — land, house or flat — can now be transferred to one's children or blood relatives without paying stamp duty for registration.

This will come as a major relief as families won't have to pay a 5% of the ready reckoner rate of the property as stamp duty. Making the announcement, revenue minister Eknath Khadse said an affidavit on a Rs 100 stamp paper would suffice. He later changed it to Rs 500 as the government no longer deals in Rs 100 stamp paper for property matters.

In other decisions announced in the House on wednesday, those with 500sq ft or smaller homes do not have to pay the increased property tax and the government will allow twice the transfer of development rights to a landowner in lieu of land surrendered for a public amenity.

Replying to a discussion on the budgetary allocation for the urban development department, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government is framing a new policy, wherein TDR will be indexed to the ready reckoner rate to "prevent developers earning a windfall from the use of TDR of one area in another. The RR rate of the area where it is being utilized will apply". The decision to increase TDR was taken as the new Land Acquisition Act has increased compensation, he added.

A construction amenity TDR or incentive TDR will be offered to a land-owner in addition to the regular TDR if he develops an amenity and hands it over to the local body.

Khadse said the decision to waive stamp duty on property being passed to heirs will cost the exchequer Rs 350 crore annually. "The ready reckoner rate for land and other property has gone up considerably even if the land does not sell at that rate in the market. We have received a large number of complaints, especially from farmers. They have been demanding to know why they should pay the government to transfer land to their own children. Hence, we have decided to do away with the stamp duty," he said.