As a boost to individual property buyers and the overall realty sector in the state, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy gave his go-ahead on Wednesday to reduce stamp duty significantly, which will bring down property registration charges. Realtors said that the government’s decision will legalize property registration activities and check “shady transactions”, which had been prevalent in the realty sector due to higher registration charges.

This will be a win-win situation for both consumers and the government since the revenues for the government will also increase significantly. “Instead of registering the properties, people opted for ‘on-paper’ transactions. The reduced stamp duty rates will legalize the entire registration process in the state. The higher stamp duty on gift deeds had also prompted people not to go for registration of properties if it was transferred to members within the family. This issue has also been addressed by reducing the duty to 1 per cent from 5 per cent.