State revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat plans to relax conditions for e-registrations for the first point-of-sale, and removing the cap on the number of property registrations for developers.
The effort will encourage property buyers and enable more transactions in this festive period, he said.
In April, a state government circular allowed online registrations for developers registering 20 or more documents after due verification of the builders.
Thorat on Thursday told that they plan to remove this condition and allow more RERA registered and authentic developers to apply for the process. When builders get bookings, they will be able to register their properties using this facility from their offices after government verification.
“We have had 40 developers register with us using the e-registration facility. We want the number to increase. So, we plan to ease the limit on registrations further which will encourage more developers to take up e-registration,” .
The state has already announced a reduction of stamp duty till the next financial year and last month already crossed the total registrations when compared with the previous September.
The minister said such initiatives will encourage more developers to register for the online process. “We may not be able to achieve the target but we are hoping that the market will revive by the year-end,” he said.
E-registration of property deeds started in Maharashtra in 2012, but restrictions to ensure sale transactions were in place. Builders who registered 500 documents at one go could opt for e-registration. This was relaxed in April to 20 registrations.
“Some more relaxations would encourage more developers to opt for e-registrations,” Pune CREDAI metro president Suhas Merchant said. He has been taking it up with the government.
Unlock measures, avoiding crowds and to maintain social distancing norms will encourage people to opt for e-registrations, another developer said.
As of now, the facility is only available at the first point-of-sale between a builder and the first buyer as it is easier to verify property-related information for such transactions.
“It gets complicated thereafter, but the process is being worked out for further transactions,” a senior official from the registration department said.
