Ernakulam tops in earnings from document registration, stamp duty

KOCHI:  The Thrikkakara sub-registrar office in Ernakulam district made the highest revenue collection in the entire state in the 2020-21 fiscal year (FY) from document registrations and stamp duty. The office earned Rs 85.86 crore from registration fee and Rs 63.72 crore from stamp duty through 2,873 registrations.

Despite the lockdown’s adverse effect on the real estate business in the first two months of FY 2020-21, Ernakulam district earned Rs 682.29 crore from document registration and Rs 507.94 crore from stamp duty in the year. This is the highest among districts. Thiruvananthapuram district was second, making Rs 416.62 crore from registration fee and Rs 311.39 crore from stamp duty.

As per the data with the registration department, over 7.83 lakh applications for document registration were received in Kerala in the last FY and over 7.62 lakh applications were processed. A sum of Rs 2,981.3 crore was collected from document registrations while Rs 2,214.04 crore was collected as stamp duty. The most registrations were done in Malappuram (93, 907), followed by Thiruvananthapuram (87,364) and Ernakulam (74,319). In Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kollam and Thrissur, 66,589, 64,836, 64,775 and 64,718 document registrations took place, respectively. With 20,479 registrations, Wayanad district was at the bottom of the list. 

However, Ernakulam was substantially ahead when it came to revenue generation from property registration. “Revenue for the registration department mostly comes from property registration and stamp duty. In Ernakulam district, the value of property, especially in Thrikkakara, Ernakulam and Edappally sub-registrar offices, are highest in the state.

The Ernakulam unit had been one of the top revenue making sub-registrar offices for a long time. However, with the property value boom in Kakkanad, revenue collection of Thrikkakara sub-registrar office soared last year. There are also more cases of property undervaluation in Thrikkakara, which attract fine during land transactions,” said an official from the district registration office.

Despite having the highest number of registrations in the state, Malappuram’s revenue generation and stamp duty collection was lower than Thrissur, Kottayam and Kozhikode districts. In Ernakulam, most document registrations took place in the Puthencruz sub-registrar office (5,981) followed by Kothamangalam (4,891), Perumbavoor (4523) and 4507 in Muvattupuzha. After Thrikkakara, the Ernakulam sub-registrar office was in second place in the state in terms of revenue generation, making Rs 8,507.53 lakh from registration fee and Rs 62.73 crore from stamp duty through 3,979 registrations. The Edappally office, where 3,700 registrations took place, was third with Rs 73.92 crore collected as registration fee and Rs 55.03 crore as stamp duty. 

Real estate agent Salem Hameed said land rates in Thrikkakara have skyrocketed since the establishment of Infopark. “Kochi is now developing towards the Kakkanad area prompting more people to settle in areas near Infopark and across Kakkanad. Now, one cent of land in Kakkanad costs at least Rs 15 lakh. It will be minimum Rs 25 lakh at prime locations, like places close to the Seaport-Airport Road and the Palarivattom-Kakkanad road,” he said.

Salem said despite the lockdown, property prices saw no dip so far. “There were fewer transactions from April to August 2020. From November 2020 to March 2021, business flourished. At present, business is less and is expected to pick up by the September-October period,” he said.A registration department officials said it was seen that during fund crunch, people dispose of their property to survive. “Even during recession, real estate business will take place. Now, Keralites are investing in property knowing that land prices will never come down. Several youngsters are procuring land considering it a safe investment,” he said.