Mumbai: In order to prevent banks from getting their mortgage documents registered in Gujarat and Delhi due to lower stamp duty, the state Cabinet on Wednesday approved an amendment to the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958. As per the amendment, the maximum limit of stamp duty for an individual bank for mortgage documents has been increased to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh. However, for the consortium of banks it has been capped at Rs 50 lakh.

A revenue department officer told the Free Press Journal, “At present, if the loan is taken from a consortium of banks then the stamp duty was charged on the document of an individual bank which was Rs 10 lakh. If there are 12 banks, then the stamp duty recovered from them would be Rs 1.20 crore. This duty structure has impacted the registration of mortgage deals in the state as banks used to get it done from Gujarat and Delhi. Therefore, the stamp duty for the consortium of banks has been capped at Rs 50 lakh.’’

He said if a loan of Rs 500 crore is drawn from a consortium of banks the maximum stamp duty payable now will be Rs 50 lakh. “If a loan of Rs 30 lakh is taken from a single bank then the stamp duty payable will be Rs 10 lakh; for a Rs 60 lakh loan it is Rs 20 lakh and for a Rs 100 crore loan also, it is Rs 20 lakh,’’ he added.

Further, for a Rs 5 lakh loan the stamp duty has been reduced to 1 per cent from 5 per cent, and for loans over Rs 5 lakh to 3 per cent.