Tirupati: The demonetisation of high value notes has affected revenue to the state government from stamp duty on property registrations. The government had fixed a target of Rs 274 crores revenue through registrations from Chittoor district. The revenue generation from Chittoor, with 13 sub-registrars, and Tirupati Balaji registration, with 12, has almost come to a halt. Speaking to this newspaper, Tirupati rural registrar M. Damodaram said that in the last five days there was a steep decrease in registrations.
“We used to have 40 registrations per day before the demonetisation, now only three to four are taking place,” he said adding it may be difficult to reach the target. The situation is not different in other sub-registrar offices in the district. The registrations at Tirupati urban sub-registrar office have also come down to under 10, from about 100 per day. According to official sources, revenue from the stamp duty on registrations for the last seven months has not met the target.
Builders are confident that the demonetisation will not affect them as most buyers purchase property through bank loans and only a small percentage from savings. “People who wish to purchase flats in apartments or individual houses will mostly opt for loans from banks. They will pay the remaining amount from their savings or from other sources. But for the land deals, like plots or agricultural lands, the entire transaction is done in cash, which is in shortage now. The seller or purchasers have to show their source of income while registering the land, which is tough in the present situation,” said Mr V. Srinivasulu, President of Tirupati chapter of Credai.
