State Cabinet to Discuss Stamp Duty Reduction, Land Values Revision in Telangana

 Hyderabad: The state government is reportedly considering a reduction in stamp duty for property registrations while revising the market value of lands, official sources said. The previous BRS government had increased stamp duty from six per cent to 7.5 per cent in July 2022. The present government is now mulling a slight decrease, bringing it down to 7 per cent.

The last revision of the market value of lands was undertaken by the BRS regime in 2021 and 2022, when the market values of agricultural land were increased by up to 150 per cent, and non-agricultural land such as open plots by up to 100 per cent, compared to the pre-Telangana formation levels of 2013.

The state government has asked the stamps and registrations department to submit proposals for the revised market value of lands across the state. These proposals are expected to be taken up in the next state Cabinet meeting, likely to be held next week.

The government is also considering granting rights to the poor holding assigned lands and allowing them to sell such lands. Under existing rules, assigned lands are not transferable and cannot be sold. The government is considering giving full rights to assignees who have been in possession of the lands for more than 10 or 20 years.

The Cabinet will decide whether to prescribe 10 years or 20 years as the cut-off period to grant full rights, since some states in the country are implementing a 10-year norm while others follow a 20-year norm.

Sources said these crucial revenue matters were discussed during a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy late on Wednesday. Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and senior officials from the revenue, stamps, and registrations departments attended the meeting.

The Chief Minister reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the existing government-prescribed market values, terming them “irrational,” and pointed out the vast gap between official land values and actual sale prices in the market.

After the formation of Telangana in June 2014, the previous BRS government did not revise land values until 2021, retaining the 2013 valuations from undivided Andhra Pradesh for eight years. The BRS government revised land values and stamp duty in July 2021 for the first time, and again in February 2022. Despite this, the Chief Minister noted, there continues to be a significant disparity between official and real-world land prices.

For instance, in the Hyderabad core urban region within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits, the official market value for agricultural land is about Rs 20 lakh per acre, while the open market price ranges between Rs 10 crore and Rs 20 crore per acre. Similarly, in many ORR areas, the official value of non-agricultural land is only Rs 2,000- Rs 2,500 per square yard, whereas actual transactions take place at Rs 30,000– Rs 50,000 per square yard.

The Chief Minister suggested that the market value of land should be increased by two to three times in such prime areas, subject to Cabinet approval. He also instructed officials to ensure error-free reports from district collectors before finalising the rates.

The meeting discussed the possibility of implementing revised land values within the ORR first and later extending them across the state. The Chief Minister directed officials to seek proposals from the market value revision committees in each district to facilitate the process.