Stepping up its drive against money laundering and terror financing, the Union Finance Ministry has asked Maharashtra’s Inspector General of Registrations (IGR) to report all sales and purchases of immovable property valued at Rs 50 lakh and above registered every quarter within the 15th of the succeeding month. These reports are termed "immovable property reports" (IPR).
Pankaj Kumar Mishra, a director in the Finance Ministry, sent a letter dated November 1, 2022, to this effect to IGR Shravan Hardikar, with a copy to Chief Secretary Manu Srivastav. The ministry has sent similar letters to all other states and union territories.
Following this, Mumbai Suburban District Joint Registrar Bharat Garud, in a letter dated November 18, 2022, has asked the sub-registrars of Andheri, Borivali, and Kurla talukas to take the necessary action. A copy of this directive is also with The Journal.
The sub-registrars will have to compile details of all sales and purchases of immovable property valued at Rs 50 lakh or more in every quarter and submit the report to the Financial Intelligence Unit, India (FIU-Ind).
Similar reports will be sent from all districts of the state. A Revenue Department official told The Journal, “Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the IGR has to file a quarterly report. In Maharashtra, about 30 lakh property documents are registered annually. With this new advisory, they will have to keep an eye on transactions worth Rs 50 lakh and above.”
The official noted that no property in Mumbai changes hands for less than Rs 50 lakh. This means each and every property transaction in the city will now be scanned by the FIU-Ind.
The Income-Tax Department separately collects data annually on all transactions above Rs 30 lakh. “It is for the first time that the Revenue Department will have to make such reports for the FIU-Ind,” the official said.
The FIU-Ind is the national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analysing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions. It is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening the efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation, and enforcement agencies against money laundering and financial terrorism.
In his letter, Mr. Mishra has asked the IGR to register on the new FINGATE 2.0 platform and file a test report. Fingate 2.0 is a portal for reporting entities that allows them to enroll themselves and file reports. It is tentatively scheduled to go live next month.
