Stamp duty on mill lands to rise 500%

From January 1, 2007, the stamp duty for those buying flats, shops and offices coming up on textile mill lands - which were recently sold to private developers by inviting open tenders - will shoot up by a whopping 100 to 500 per cent, with the Maharashtra government increasing the market value of all such properties in its Ready Reckoner.

Meanwhile, the stamp duty burden on purchase of residential and commercial property throughout Mumbai is all set to increase by 5 to 25 per cent.

The Ready Reckoner, published by the Inspector General of Registration and Stamps, has also revised the market rates of land in Mumbai by almost 70 per cent. The stamp duty is calculated based on these market rates.

The market rates were determined after studying 80,000 documents - the largest sampling of documents so far - said Rajesh Mehta, chairman, Raha Realtors.

Kohinoor Mill No 3 has witnessed the steepest rise in market value of its property in the Ready Reckoner - its land price is now up by 520 per cent and stands at Rs 1,81,500 per square metre.

The rates have risen by 477 per cent for residential purposes, pegged at Rs 2,90,000 per square metre. The market value for office space here has gone up by 553 per cent and stands at Rs 3,62,500, while the prices for shops have risen by 517 per cent and are pegged at around Rs 4,35,000.

Similarly, the prices of land, residential, shop and office premises at Elphinstone Mill has been hiked from anywhere between 227 to 364 per cent and the prices have accordingly risen between Rs 1,40,600-3,37,500 per square metre.

For Mumbai Mill, Madhusudan Mill and Bharat Mill, the rise is anywhere between 178-329 per cent and prices have been revised up to Rs 1,04,500-2,50,000 per square metre.

Jupiter Mill is another example, where prices have gone up by 50-110 per cent. In the case of other mills, including Jam Mill, United Mill No 1 and Phinlay Mill as well as Kohinoor Mill No 1, the price rise is a moderate 5-25 per cent, which matches with the average price hike.

An above-average price hike has also been noticed for land at Andheri (East), which has emerged as an important business district. In the areas such as Mogra, Marol and Kondivita, the land price rise in the Ready Reckoner is anywhere between 60 to 70 per cent.

"The high market value will increase the capital gains tax burden, as the Ready Reckoner prices are treated as a base by the income tax department under Section 50C of the Income-Tax Act," explained Mehta.

The other changes include an increase in depreciation benefits for old properties. However, in the case of properties using Transferable Development Rights (TDRs), there is a separate formula that is used in the Ready Reckoner, whereby 40 per cent will be added to the market value of the main property.