Property prices to go up from April 1
   Date :28-Mar-2022
 
Property prices
 
Staff Reporter
Property prices in Nagpur are set to go up from April 1, as the Metro Cess of one per cent will become re-applicable after a gap of two years. Inspector General of Registration (IGR) and Stamps Controller of Maharashtra has issued a letter in this regard.
State Government had levied one per cent Metro Cess on property transactions in Nagpur city in 2017-18, for the first time. As the metro rail project in other cities of the State was yet to take shape back then, the cess was applicable in Nagpur city alone. However, for one-and-a-half months since the Government notification in this regard, even the Sub-Registrars and parties in property transactions were not aware of this.
“Thousands of documents got registered during this period of one-and-a-half months. Later on, the Government started recovering one per cent Metro Cess on these transactions. The process is still on. Meanwhile, due to COVID-19 pandemic situation and its impact on property market, State Government granted two year holiday for levy of Metro Cess. That holiday ends on March 31, 2022. As such, the levy of one per cent Metro Cess on
property transactions shall start from April 1, 2022,” said Adv Sandeep Shastri, property expert.
Dnyaneshwar Khilari, Joint IGR and Stamps Superintendent (Headquar-ters), issued a letter on March 24 to President of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry, stating that the Metro Cess would be applicable on property transactions in Mumbai, Pimpri Chinchwad, and Nagpur municipal corporation limits from April 1, 2022. The cess is levied with an intention to fund transport infrastructure development like metro rail, bridges etc. It will be levied on sale, gift, and mortgage of property. This is bound to make property purchase costlier. Already, in Nagpur, five per cent stamp duty and one per cent local body tax are levied on property transactions. With one per cent Metro Cess, the total surcharge on property transactions will be seven per cent.
According to Adv Shastri, as per the original notification the Metro Cess was applicable on property transactions in Nagpur city limits.
However, now, there is confusion in real estate sector. With metro rail network having jutting out of Nagpur city limits, many in real estate sector are not sure if the cess will be applicable even in rural areas. Adv Shastri said that the Metro Cess would be applicable within Nagpur city limits only. To expand its applicability to rural areas, separate notification will have to be issued, he added.