Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Maharashtra government is planning to ensure that only around 75% of the stamp duty be paid at the time of agreement to sale—a move that promises relief to buyers booking under-construction housing. The balance amount is to be paid at the time of registering the sale deed, which is executed at the time of the final transfer of the title of the property.
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While the sale agreement lays down the terms and conditions for a property sale and marks an intent to enter into a transaction in the future, the sale deed is the final document that transfers the ownership and title of the apartment or landed property from the seller to the buyer.
Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Maharashtra minister for revenue, said the government planned to amend the Registration Act, 1908, to make this possible.
Bawankule also said there were around 3,940 buildings in Nagpur city and the district without occupancy certificates. Their building plans had been approved, but they had flouted laws, such as those related to the local municipal bodies and norms of the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA).
“We will not spare those who have cheated people,” the minister warned, pointing to how Nagpur, which was considered Maharashtra’s second capital, faced waterlogging due to such constructions. The builders have been given three months to do away with these lacunae and deviations and get the occupancy certificates.
At present, the base stamp duty on property is 5 per cent of the value of the property being registered. “When an agreement to sale is registered for an under-construction property, the stamp duty is paid in full. However, in case the builder or developer cheats purchasers by not constructing the building as per the plan sanctioned by MahaRERA or makes any illegal alterations, they (buyers) suffer because they have paid the stamp duty in full,” said a senior revenue department official.
“Hence, we are considering an amendment to the law wherein the buyer may have to pay just around 75 per cent or 80 per cent of the stamp duty at the time of registering the agreement to sale. The remaining 20-25 per cent can be paid at the time of registering the sale deed. Normally, the sale deed is executed on a Rs 500 stamp paper,” he added.
The department of registration and stamps is the second-largest contributor to the state exchequer after Goods and Services Tax (GST). In 2025-26, the department garnered revenues of Rs 61,816.81 crore as against the target of Rs 63,500 crore. It has around 517 offices across the state.
The department has also set into motion the process of involving private players in launching model sub-registrar offices to register property-related documents such as sale and purchase transactions, leave and licences, mortgage deeds, conveyance agreements, gift deeds and power of attorney.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
