Draft Housing Policy proposes for reduction of stamp duty to make housing affordable

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

The proposed state urban housing and habitat policy of Tamil Nadu has suggested for reduction of stamp duty from 11pc to 7pc to make dwelling units more affordable, according to information available with Express

The comes after the final draft Urban Housing and Habitat Policy being developed by Ernst and Young has been submitted to German Agency for International Cooperation or (GIZ), an international enterprise owned by the German Federal Government, appointed the agency to understand the current housing scenario and formulate the all-inclusive housing and habitat policy for Tamil Nadu.

The proposed draft comes in the wake housing demand in Tamil Nadu is estimated to be 1.39 million as per the survey conducted  across the cities in the state under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Housing for All mission.

S Sridharan, the chairman of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, Tamil Nadu, has said that the suggestion made under the draft is a welcome move and said that Tamil Nadu is paying the highest stamp duty of 11pc across India.

“The reduction in stamp duty will provide a huge relief to the realty sector which is further burdened with 5pc Goods and Service Tax,” he added.

Sridharan said that CREDAI will be putting forth their suggestion to reduce the stamp duty with immediate effect as it will provide relief to the customer and improve business scenario in the state.

The draft also suggested Infrastructure and amenities (I&A) fund to be maintained at State level and to be utilised for financing development of infrastructure across cities including slum upgradation, affordable housing and new areas.

A differentiated structure of I&A charges shall be evolved to lower overall cost for affordable housing, the draft has stated.