Maharashtra govt waives registration fees for cluster redevelopment homes in Mumbai

Mumbai, Nov 20 (PTI) Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday said that registration fees for homes allotted under cluster development projects in Mumbai would be waived.

Bawankule, in a statement, said the government had approved exemption from registration fees for units between 400 sq ft and 600 sq ft being allotted to tenants and residents shifting into new buildings under cluster redevelopment.

The Revenue Department granted approval to the Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps on November 18, he said, adding that the decision will give major support to ongoing and pending redevelopment work.

The decision would benefit a large number of families in Mumbai, and the waiver would reduce financial burden on residents even as the construction area offered to them increases by up to 200 sq ft.

The minister said the exemption aims to give momentum to delayed redevelopment projects in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation limits and ensure that occupants of old structures receive their due homes.

Under earlier norms, residents had to pay stamp duty on the additional area received during redevelopment at either the construction cost or the ready-reckoner rates. The revised guidelines now allow assessment of the base area, additional area, and fungible area received under cluster schemes at concessional valuation — at 112 times the rent or the lower applicable rate.

As per the Development Control and Promotion Regulation (DCPR) 2034, Rule 33(9)(5)(i), residents are entitled to a minimum of 35 sq metres carpet area in cluster development.

Depending on the size of the cluster, they also receive 10 to 35 per cent additional area and 35 per cent fungible area. All of this will now be treated as a replacement area and valued at nominal rates for stamp duty calculation, which the minister said would improve the financial viability of projects and help expedite long-pending proposals.

According to the Revenue Department, a small project on a 4,000 sq metres (1 acre) plot would save about Rs 21.14 lakh in stamp duty due to concessional valuation of roughly 51.975 sq metres of additional area. In a large cluster of 50,000 sq metres (5 hectares), the exemption would result in savings of around Rs 4.36 crore, as the number of eligible units is much higher. PTI ND ARU