Maharashtra State Registration Department Issues Ultimatum on Stamp Duty Debts, Warns To Seize Property

In a stern move, the state registration department has issued a warning, vowing to attach properties of individuals who fail to settle their outstanding stamp duty payments by the end of March.

Senior registration officials revealed that last month, a staggering 2.32 lakh cases were identified, leading to the dispatch of notices with a strict payment deadline set for the close of March. Shockingly, only 11,700 individuals have responded to these notices to date.

Responding to this lack of compliance, the registration department has taken a decisive step to attach properties as a means of recovering the overdue stamp duty dues. Among the respondents, 2,334 have paid the penalty, 5,679 cases have been disposed of due to stamp duty waivers, and approximately 6,021 cases are still under scrutiny. The total collection by the department until mid-January stood at Rs 20 crore.

Deputy Secretary (Stamps and Registration) SS Bajaj emphasized, “If citizens fail to clear their dues, we will be forced to carry out the process of attaching their properties to recover the stamp duty and penalty.”

The majority of the cases, concentrated in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Nagpur, could contribute to an estimated revenue of Rs 3,000 crore if citizens fulfill their payment obligations, according to the official.

To address the situation, an amnesty scheme has been introduced for cases identified between 1980 and 2020. Citizens can avail penalty waivers by settling the deficit stamp duty amount within the next two months. The amnesty scheme operates in two phases, from January 1 to January 31 and from February 1 to March 31.

For cases between 1980 and 2000 with stamp duty less than Rs 1 lakh, a complete waiver on both stamp duty and penalty is applicable. In cases exceeding one lakh, a 50% waiver on stamp duty and a 100% waiver on penalty apply.

For cases registered between 2000 and 2020, with stamp duty amounts below Rs 25 crore, a 25% waiver on stamp duty and a 10% penalty are applicable. If the amount exceeds Rs 25 crore, a 20% stamp duty reduction and a penalty of Rs 1 crore are imposed.