By Apurva Bhatt

 Here’s some good news for property owners who want to transfers their flats to their children. The Maharashtra government has waived off stamp duty on transfer of immovable property by its owner to an heir or a family member.

Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse announced the decision in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Prevalent norms of the Maharashtra Stamp Act stipulated a stamp duty up to 5 per cent on such transactions. While the stamp duty payable in cases where a gift is being made to a family member was 2 per cent of the property’s market value (ready reckoner rate), transfer of a property that does not qualify as an ancestral property attracted a levy of 5 per cent.

A stamp duty of Rs 200 was also payable on a release deed in respect of an ancestral property. Khadse, however, said all such transactions would have to be compulsorily registered with the government. The Punjab government had adopted a similar policy previously.

The government also announced that it would soon extend online registration process for property sale transactions, allowing home buyers to register properties without a visit to the registration office.

Such a facility has already been applied on a voluntary basis for leave and licence transactions.“We will soon make it applicable to sale transactions too,” Khadse said.