The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Revenue from stamp duty dips

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 07, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Revenue from stamp duty dips

N. Rahul

Official hopes things will improve if rates are reduced

HYDERABAD: The lowering of stamp duty on land transactions from July 1 has resulted in a fall in the revenue accruing to the State Government from the sector.

The revenue earned in July was Rs. 158.37 crores against a target of Rs. 181.44 crores (87.29 per cent achievement) and the same was Rs. 174.81 crores against a target of Rs. 208.52 crores (84 per cent).

Sudden drop

The achievement of the targets from April to June ranged from 120 to 124 per cent but it suddenly fell in July with the Government reducing the stamp duty on sale of land by 30 per cent in municipal corporation limits, 25 per cent in selection and special grade municipalities and 20 per cent in gram panchayats.

The Government cut the duty to 9.5 per cent across the board for all three categories in tune with trends in the rest of the country. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and most of the other States brought down the rates to below 10 per cent around 2003 but they ruled at 13.5 per cent in corporation limits, 12.5 per cent in selection and special grade municipalities and 11.5 per cent in gram panchayats in the State until two months ago.

Lal Rosem, Commissioner and Inspector-General of Registration and Stamps, hopes that the revenue from stamp duty will pick up in the coming months going by the cardinal principle of tax laws that more taxpayers will volunteer to come into the net if the rates were reduced.

`Natural growth'

There will be less of concealment in land values which should spur revenue generation.

In spite of the drop in duty collection in the last two months, the State achieved Rs. 946.29 crores against a target of Rs. 914 crores in the sector from April to August.

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