CREDAI flays Maha govt move to hike ready reckoner rates

Cautions against capital flight from the state to neighbouring states such as Gujarat and even to Jakarta

Opposing the Maharashtra government’s decision to hike stamp duty and other taxes related to property, realty developers’ apex body Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) has cautioned against capital flight from the state to neighbouring states such as Gujarat and even to Jakarta.

The state government has increased the ready reckoner rates by 25% from January 1. The ready reckoner rates are used for calculation of stamp duty and registration.

"The various departments of the state government are planning to increase revenues without a comprehensive approach", CREDAI national president Lalit Kumar Jain said.

He recalled that the hike in lease rentals, property taxes, fungible premium and now hike in ready reckoner rates despite the market realities of fall in sales bear testimony to the fact that the government officials’ adopt a unilateral approach and their mindset is to increase revenues by hook or crook.

Jain appealed to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to take a comprehensive approach and involve all stake holders before the government takes decisions that impact home buyers and developers.

“We as the developer community can work with the government to increase revenue by volume approach,” he said and reiterated CREDAI's pledge to contribute to the State's economic growth.

“The unilateral revenue hike move will lead to increase in the cost of living and even make the cost of business dearer which will ultimately lead to job cuts that will prove detrimental to the State’s economy,” Jain said.

“We will lose business to global growth cities like Jakarta and within the country to investor friendly states like Gujarat,” he said.