The Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis declared the Maharashtra Mudrank Shulakh Abhay Yojana 2023 (stamp duty amnesty scheme) during a cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, November 23.
In a move aimed at enhancing revenue, the Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday has decided to implement the Stamp Duty Abhay Yojana (amnesty scheme) 2023. Under the scheme, the government will provide an exemption on stamp duty and penalty for registration of deeds executed between 1980 and 2020.The amnesty scheme will be implemented in two phases from December 1–2023 to January 31–2024 and from February 1–2024 to March 31–2024.
Maharashtra Stamp Duty Abhay Yojana
The Maharashtra cabinet announced on Wednesday, November 29, that it has decided to implement the Stamp Duty Abhay Yojana (amnesty scheme) 2023, aimed at increasing revenue.This initiative grants an exemption on stamp duty and penalties for deed registrations conducted between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2020. However, deeds not filed or registered will not be exempted under this Abhay Scheme, the statement issued by the government said.
The amnesty scheme will be implemented in two phases: the first phase from December 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024, and the second phase from February 1, 2024, to March 31, 2024.The exemption is available for any amount of stamp paper sold only from Government-recognized stamp dealers or authorized mechanisms under the Chief Controller of the Revenue.
What is the amnesty scheme
Under this scheme, the Revenue department has allowed a complete waiver of the stamp duty fees and the penalty amount imposed following deferred payment for documents both registered and unregistered between January 1 1980 and December 2020.
“In respect of deeds executed between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 2020, but not filed or registered, the entire stamp duty and penalty payable to the Revenue department will be exempted under the Abhay Scheme,” a statement issued by the government said.
How will the stamp duty amnesty scheme benefit people
The scheme will be offered in two phases by the Revenue department. The first phase of the scheme will be launched from December 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024, and the second phase will commence on February 1, 2024 and run till March 31, 2024. The details of both the phases are yet to be announced.
It will help housing societies which can take benefit of the Deemed Conveyance and also get documents which were not sufficiently stamped regulated.
Prabhu welcomed the move and said it will help exempt penalties up to 400 per cent on documents registered or unregistered.
He further explained, “For instance, if a document is registered but not stamped, say 20 years ago, and the stamp duty fees was say Rs 1 lakh at that time. If an individual wishes to get the documents stamped now, then the penalty amount which will be imposed is 2 per cent per month and lead to an amount much higher than the principal stamp duty fees amount.”