Revenue Minister Ponguleti: Lower Stamp Duty Rates For Women, TG Stamp Amendment Bill In Next Assembly Session
The government was also considering reducing stamp duty for women
Hyderabad, July 5: Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said the state government was in the process of formulating a new stamp duty policy to ensure transparency in commercial transactions and protecting public interests. He said that the government would introduce the Telangana Stamp Amendment Bill-2025, in accordance with the Indian Stamp Act of 1899, during the upcoming Assembly session.
In a bid to promote gender equity, the minister said the government was also considering reducing stamp duty for women. A proposal is under review to reduce stamp duty on older apartments, based on their registration dates, since the current structure treats old and new apartments equally.
The minister was speaking at a meeting at the Secretariat on Saturday with top officials, including CMO principal secretary V. Sheshadri, revenue secretary D.S. Lokesh Kumar, law secretary Rendla Thirupathi, special secretary, stamps and registrations, Rajeev Gandhi Hanumanthu and CM’s officier on special duty Vemula Srinivasulu, to discuss the draft amendment Bill.
Officials informed the minister that the Assembly had passed a Stamp Amendment Bill in 2021 proposing changes to four Sections and 26 articles under the Indian Stamp Act, and sent it to the Centre for approval. Although the state responded to objections raised by the Centre, the Centre returned the Bill in January 2023. In light of this, the minister announced the decision to withdraw the 2021 amendment Bill and draft a fresh legislation suited to current needs.
Srinivas Reddy said that the new Bill should be citizen-friendly and ensure legal clarity in transactions. He directed officials to bring aspects not covered in the older laws under the purview of the new legislation. He insisted on designing stringent rules that provide legitimacy to new agreements while sparing the common man from any financial burden.
Srinivas Reddy suggested that land market value revisions should be aligned with prevailing market rates without imposing excessive costs on the people. Officials were instructed to prepare scientific proposals for revising property values after conducting detailed studies in areas showing wide discrepancies.
A final decision on these measures will be taken after discussions with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, the minister added.
