Maharashtra cuts stamp duties on Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur land
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the stamp duty concession would help promote the real estate sector in the aftermath of slowdown The MVA government announced some tax concession proposals in its maiden budget.
This included a 1% stamp duty waiver for the next two years and other related fees for the registration of documents in the areas covered by the Metropolitan Development Authority of Mumbai (MMRDA) and Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nagpur municipal corporations.
Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the stamp duty waiver would help to promote the real estate sector in the aftermath of a slowdown.
He also declared sops for farmers, suggested increasing VAT on petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre, and reduced industrial electricity duty. Ajit Pawar projected a budget revenue deficit of about 9,511 crore and suggested the scale of the assembly’s 2020-21 annual plan at 1,15,000 crore.
The projections of the budget put the fiscal deficit at approximately 54618.38 crore. He suggested raising the industrial-use electricity obligation from 9. 3 to 7.5% of purchase fees. Reducing the electricity duty would help foster state-run industries, the finance minister said. Due to tax concessions, annual revenue losses of around 2,500 crore are expected.
Similarly, Pawar suggested an improvement in VAT on petrol and dieselby Re 1 per litre. This, the finance minister told the assembly, would enrich the state exchequer with an additional 1,800 crore.
Beginning April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2019, he proposed a one-time compensation scheme for farmers whose crop loan is more than ~2 lakh, including principle and interest. The government will move some 2 lakh to qualify farmer’s bank accounts after the outstanding amount above some 2 lakh, as repaid by them on September 30, 2019, Pawar said.
Likewise, farmers who will regularly repay their duties until June 30th, 2020 and for crop loans taken from them during 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, will earn up to a maximum of 50,000 as incentives for the amount of crop loans taken during 2018-19, the Finance Minister said.
He said the government has set a target of feeding a lakh people through its meal scheme’ Shiv Bhojan.’ The finance minister approved for the subsidized food program for the poor an allocation of about 150 crore. Pawar said the budget proposals concentrate on tackling the economic slowdown and job creation challenges.
He said the government is setting up a dedicated fund, called the “Green Fund,” to be used for environmental conservation. The money from this special fund will be used exclusively for sewage disposal and waste management programs, the finance minister said.
Pawar said the tax revenue is estimated to be around 2,16,824 crore as per the revised estimates for the year 2019-20. In 2019-20, he said, it was expected to receive budget revenue from somewhere around € 3,14,640 crore.
However, due to a decrease in receipt by some 8,543 crore of state share in central taxes, revenue receipts have been revised to about 3,09,000 crores, he said. In the 2020-21 budget the tax receipt is projected at 3.47.457 crore and revenue expenditure is estimated at 3.56.968 crore.
“This suggests a tax shortfall of around 9,511 crore,” he said. Pawar said the gross outstanding debt and liabilities amounted to around 4,33,00,901 crore at the end of January 2020.
The state has received loans of some 2,82,448 crore over the past five years, he said. The cost of government-led infrastructure projects is ~2,78,271 crore, and the state will bear direct and indirect responsibility for these projects, Pawar said.
