Representatives of the real estate industry, on Thursday, appealed to the state government of Telangana to defer its plan to increase property registration charges, expected to be rolled out on February 1.
Reportedly, the Telangana government is mulling hiking registration charges – by 20% to 50% depending on the nature of the property – beginning next month. Earlier in July 2021, the state had revised the registration costs apart from increasing the stamp duty from 6% to 7.5%.
“Two revisions within such a short span will be difficult to withstand, especially given the current Covid-19 situation. Also, with most realty-related offices being affected because of the third wave we have not been able to complete our pending transactions. We hope the government reconsiders its decision and puts it off for later,” said P Ramakrishna Rao, president, Credai – Hyderabad. “The fact that the cost of raw material, particularly steel, has shot up drastically, has only added to our worries,” he added.
According to market estimates, steel has seen an over 5,000 per tonne increase in cost over the last one month. It’s current price: 65,000 per tonne (approx.)
Rao’s concern was shared by members of the Telangana Real Estate Developers Association, who jointly made the appeal to the state.
R Chalapathi Rao, president of the group said, “If this happens, within a matter of months the market value of properties will see an increase of almost 100%. How is this fair to the industry or the customers?”
He added, “We would not have objected to the increase in registration charges if the government had not revised all other fees – like stamp duty and NALA (land conversion tax) – as well. This, with the UDS menace, Covid-19 impact and higher raw material values, is going to hit the sector hard.”
