Maharashtra govt to amend Mumbai Stamp Act

For those who feel conned by builders, Maharashtra government has decided to provide some relief by amending a law to allow flat buyers to get stamp duty refunded on cancellation of agreement with the builder.

The decision to amend Section 48 (pertaining to property sales) of the Mumbai Stamp Act, 1958 was approved at a meeting of the State Cabinet in Mumbai on Wednesday, official sources said.

The measure is expected to ensure that flat buyers, who want to cancel the agreement made with their builders, can get their stamp duties refunded.

Accordingly, if a builder has suppressed certain facts about the land or if the construction is illegal or the size of the flat is less than what was promised, the buyer can choose to cancel the purchase agreement.

Earlier, the stamp duty could be refunded only if the builder refused to hand over the flat to the buyer.

The government has also decided to amend Section 36 (a) of schedule 1 of the Act for stamp duty on leave and license agreements to bring stamp duty in Mumbai and its suburbs on par with cities like Thane and Pune.

Stamp duty is a tax collected by the state government on different documents executed in the state. As per the Act, there are 63 such documents. Currently, the maximum slab for stamp duty is five per cent for all properties valued over Rs 500,000.