Karnataka Property Revenue Exceeds Target in 2021

The department of stamps and registration, the third-highest revenue grosser for the state, has already met over 76 per cent of its revenue target for the financial year 2021-2022, which is also indicative of a booming realty sector. The pandemic seems to have made no dent in the revenue as the department’s coffers continue to swell. Ravindra PN, inspector general of registration and commissioner of stamps, said they had racked up Rs 9,784 crore as of December 31, 2021, which is higher than the nine-month (April to December) target of Rs 9,500 crore. “We have achieved around 76 per cent of the Rs 12,665 crore target for the 2021-22 financial year and are confident of surpassing it by March this year,” he added. The department had managed to meet only 85 per cent of the Rs 12,665 crore target in the 2020-2021 financial year,” a senior official said. In the past six months alone, the government has netted Rs 7,000 crore, which is twice the revenue earned during pre-Covid times. The number of property registrations has been on the rise after the government eased Covid curbs in June last year even as sub-registrar offices functioned with limited staff strength. Among the districts, Bengaluru and Mysuru accounted for the lion’s share (60%) of the revenue. The government had not revised the 2020-21 target of Rs 12,665 crore since the real estate market was reeling under the impact of the pandemic’s first wave. Senior officials are overwhelmed by the response as revenue remained unaffected despite the government not considering their proposal to reduce the guidance value last year. The government had only reduced stamp duty for the first registration of apartments costing between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 45 lakh to 3% from 5%.