Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is set to revise the ready reckoner (RR) rates from April 1. A senior revenue department official told The Free Press Journal on Wednesday, “The department has proposed an average 3 per cent rise in RR rates. Last year, the state government did not revise these rates due to the coronavirus pandemic and therefore, a revision was due this year, considering that normalcy is being restored, especially in the wake of the revival of the economy after a let-up in the Covid crisis.”
He said the government would issue a notification on March 31, so the revised rates would be applicable across Maharashtra from April 1. The state government had revised RR rates in September 2020, which was applicable to 42,167 villages, 368 municipal council and 27 municipal corporation areas. The average hike was 1.74 per cent. The highest rise was in Pune, by 3.91 per cent, while in Mumbai, there was an average decrease of 0.6 per cent.
The RR rate is the standard value of real estate property, regulated and assessed by the state government every year. Property buyers are expected to pay stamp duty or a registration fee not below the RR rates fixed by the state government or the actual price of the property whichever is higher.
Another revenue department official admitted that the revision in RR rates is likely to impact buyers when it comes to paying property tax to the BMC. “This is because the BMC calculates property tax based on RR rates in Mumbai. However, the RR rates hike will not have any major impact in Mumbai at the time of property purchase because developers are selling at rates higher than the RR rates. However, the revision of RR rates will lead to an increase in the premiums charged by the BMC and MHADA. This will help the state government mop up more revenue in 2022-23,” he noted.
Chairperson, Housing and RERA Committee of the Builders Association of India, Anand Gupta, hoped that the revised rates would be rational and commensurate with the existing market conditions. “The government should not artificially increase rates to mop up additional revenue, which could prove counterproductive to the government. This is because the steps earlier taken by the government to boost the realty sector should not get jeopardised by wrong judgment in setting the revised RR rates,” he opined.
