PANJIM: The recent notification on fixing of registration rate to three per cent in the field of real estate on property worth Rs 75 lakh and below has upset the real estate sector in Goa. This fee also needs to be paid up-front at the time of agreement between the buyer and the seller.
The President of CREDAI, which has around 65 members, Nilesh Salkar told Herald that, “The new notification regarding registration fee is not good. Effectively it means that customers buying a flat valued below Rs 75 lakh will now pay an additional one per cent towards registration. Currently the rate for registration up to Rs 50 lakh is two per cent and upto Rs 75 lakh is 2.5 per cent.”
When asked about other States, Salkar replied, “In other States, the registration fees have been reduced to two per cent and this had really boosted sales. The government actions will certainly not increase revenue but drastically affect sales especially in the affordable segment. This move will primarily affect the affordable housing projects.”
Goa Association of Realtors (GAR) President Amit Chopra, who is also the head of West Zone of National Association of Realtors (India), is of the opinion that for quite some time real estate has been treated as an unwanted step child in policy formulations by both the Central and State governments.
“Steps like removal of stamp duties and registration charges from ambit of housing loans by Reserve Bank of India, increased burden due to higher GST in comparison to Service Tax for common man. The State government last year, when Maharashtra slashed its stamp duty by over 50 per cent, quietly increased the stamp duty by 0.5 per cent and now with almost one per cent increase in registration fees for those buying home or plots lesser than Rs 50 lakh (and 0.5 per cent increase for those buying less than Rs 75 lakh) has increased the burden on the common man especially those from the economically weaker section,” stated Amit.
Upset with this move, the GAR President believed that this shall only lead to the dream for owning a roof over the head even more distant by putting another additional burden on the already stressed pockets of the common man who is in deep distress due to this pandemic.
“The government is seeking to impose burdens instead of lending a helping hand. The real estate industry especially the one catering to the lower class and middle class shall find itself stifled and many people shall shelve their plans to buy homes. We highly condemn this mindset of extortion by the formulators of policies. Why does the government not stop spending on luxuries, sops and perks for the politicians and bureaucrats who enjoy plush accommodation, transportation, even loans for various purposes instead of trying to squeeze the last drop of life from the common man?” asked Amit.
