Relief for citizens as State government makes stamp duty on equitable and simple mortgage equal
Pune, February 11, 2021: The State government has issued an order to implement an equal percentage of stamp duty on both equitable mortgages and simple mortgages from Wednesday. Due to this, only 0.3 per cent stamp duty has to be paid for both types of mortgages.
There are different types of mortgages, of which, equitable mortgages and simple mortgages are mostly used. Earlier, different stamp duties were levied on different mortgages. About 0.2 per cent stamp duty was levied for equitable mortgages, while 0.5 per cent was levied for simple mortgages.
This would often confuse the citizens. Due to this, they would have to visit the sub registrar’s office for help. In the case of a simple mortgage, a loan of less than Rs 5 lakh with a loan of 0.1 per cent and above, people would have to pay a stamp duty of 0.5 per cent. As the simple mortgage was an unorganized sector, they would have to pay extra stamp duty.
About five to six lakh mortgage transactions take place every year across Maharashtra. The State government receives revenue of about Rs 2,000 crore from them.
The State’s Department of Registration and Stamps had decided to reduce the confusion between the two mortgages and make their fee uniform, for which a proposal was sent to the State government to amend the Stamp Act and levy a stamp duty of only 0.3 per cent on these two mortgages.
The proposal was approved during a cabinet meeting of the State government. After which, a notification regarding the same was released on February 9.
The decision taken by the Maharashtra government will be a great relief for the citizens. At the same time, it will help in increasing the revenue of the State Registration and Stamp Department.
