Govt tables bill mooting steep stamp duty hike
Move may fetch an additional revenue of Rs 5,000 cr
The state government on Thursday introduced a bill in the Assembly to hike stamp duty for the execution of legal documents such as powers of attorney, deeds and affidavits, in a move that is aimed at mobilising financial resources.
The Karnataka Stamp (Amendment) Bill proposes to double all duty levies, and the increase is five-fold for some instruments.
Stamp duty and registration fees are crucial revenue streams for the state government and the target this fiscal is to collect Rs 25,000 crore.
This bill, once passed, could fetch the government an additional revenue of up to Rs 5,000 crore, it is said.
As per the bill, stamp duty on adoption deeds will go up from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. Affidavits that have a stamp duty levy of Rs 20 will be up to Rs 100.
Stamp duty on powers of attorney will be hiked from Rs 100 to Rs 500. When more than five but not more than 10 people are authorised to act jointly, the stamp duty will go up from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000.
Fee for building plans: Govt to amend law to bail out BBMP
The Cabinet is learnt to have approved an amendment to the law that will essentially prevent the BBMP from having to repay over Rs 2,300 crore it had collected from builders without a legal provision.
According to sources, the Cabinet approved a Bill to amend the BBMP Act and the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act to empower civic bodies to levy charges pertaining to building plans, including the fee for commencement certificates and occupancy certificates.
In August 2021, the High Court had declared as “contrary” to law the fees that the BBMP had collected from landowners and builders.
“The Cabinet decided to amend the law with retrospective effect so that the BBMP won’t have to repay the money,” a senior minister said.
In another decision, the Cabinet approved a World Bank-assisted Karnataka Multi-Sector Disaster and Climate Resilience Project worth Rs 5,000 crore aimed at institutional strengthening and capacity-building by reorganising climate and disaster relief management.
This 7-year project involves infrastructure improvement such as redevelopment of rajakaluves, restoration of lakes, groundwater recharge and so on. The World Bank will pitch in Rs 3,500 crore and the state government Rs 1,500 crore.
The Cabinet is said to have cleared the Rs 840-crore K-SHORE project to make the state’s coastline plastic-free. This is also a World Bank project.
The Cabinet also ratified its earlier decision of withdrawing consent given to the CBI by the previous BJP government to investigate Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s assets.
The Cabinet is said to have deferred a decision on modifying an October 7, 2023 government order requiring farmers to bear the costs of setting up irrigation pump sets, which came under severe criticism.
