AP Govt reduces Stamp Duty on sale of land

The Andhra Pradesh government has taken a decision to reduce the stamp duty on all major transactions on November 27th, 2013. This includes the reduction in stamp duty on the sale of land as well. This decision was taken based on the directive of the central government which will provide the state government with sufficient funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme.

New slabs on stamp duty become effective:

As per the new slabs that have come into effect, the stamp duty on sale agreement, sale registration and property exchange was reduced from 5% to 4%. Besides, the stamp duty on sale agreement and General Power of Attoney (GPA) was reduced from 6% to 5%.

Real estate sector to benefit from govt largesse:

The real estate sector also stands to benefit immensely due to the reduction in stamp duty on construction/development agreement from 5% to 0.5%. Moreover, the stamp duty on mortgage and possession of property was reduced from 5% to 2%. However, the stamp duty on development agreement as well as the GPA will be retained at 1%.

Reduction in stamp duty for property settlement:

The stamp duty for property settlement with regards to family members will be 1% compared to the existing 3%. For property settlement with regards to non-family members, the stamp duty will be 2%. Stamp duty for gift registrations between family members under section 56(2) of Income tax Act of 1961 will be reduced from 4% to 1%.

Reduction on lease and property partition deeds:

The stamp duty on lease deeds for property lease less than one year has been fixed at 0.4% of the total lease amount. For property partition deeds, the stamp duty was reduced to 1%, while for partition deeds between family members it was reduced to 0.5%.