THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The stamp duty on partition deeds will be restored to one per cent or a flat Rs 1,000 up to a limit of five acres of the division of family property. All other partition deeds over five acres will attract three per cent duty across the board. This was unanimously decided at the subject committee meeting here on Thursday. Finance minister T.M. Thomas Isaac will present the Bill, with the amendment reported by the subject committee, in the Assembly on November 7.
Sources said the imposition of three per cent stamp duty by the LDF government in place of a flat Rs 1,000 on all partition deeds during the UDF government had resulted in dwindling registrations and attendant loss of revenue to the state. People had delayed partitions, expecting the new government to reconsider the impost in the light of declining revenues from registration and stamp duties.
The restoration of the duty to the rate prevailing five months back, subject to the five-acre limit, would witness a momentum on fresh registrations. But those with larger holdings of 15 acres and others owning plantations will have to bear the higher duty at three per cent. The latest move comes off as a tactical victory for the LDF government. The subject committee resolved the issue, without even a whimper by the UDF members. Dr Isaac’s basic intent was to deprive affluent sections of huge gains at the expense of revenue drain to the exchequer.
