Mumbai: Stamp duty cut sees property registrations jump by 270%

MUMBAI: With stamp duty slashed, property registrations in Mumbai saw a 270% increase since last September compared to the preceding months.
Around 1.13 lakh property registrations were recorded in Greater Mumbai between September 2020 and July 2021, when the state slashed the stamp duty to boost the real estate market during the pandemic lockdown.
This is in sharp contrast to the total registrations between September 2019 and July 2020, when barely 42,500 properties (with 5% stamp duty) were registered, according to data collated from the department of registration and stamps.
The high registrations since last September was mainly due to reduction of stamp duty from 5% to 2% between September and December 2020. From January 2021 till March 31, 2021, the stamp duty was fixed at 3%. However, flat purchasers who signed their deals when the stamp duty was at 3% could register their documents till as late as July 30. Mitesh Raikundalia, director, Intime Services Mumbai, a property registration firm, said there was a 270% increase in registrations in Mumbai after the stamp duty reduction. “Over 90% of the registrations are apartment sales,” he said.
The stamp duty reduction also led to humungous collections for the state. During the 11-month period from September 2020 to July 2021, the department collected Rs 4,163 crore in Mumbai.