The Bengal government has extended the 10 per cent reduction in prevailing circle rates on all immovable properties and a two per cent rebate on stamp duty till January 31, 2022.

Two formal notifications were issued by the finance department on Saturday extending the reliefs which were announced by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Kurseong last week.

In the administrative review meeting, Banerjee agreed to the requests from the real estate community and declared that the relief announced earlier would be extended by “three months”.

The government had reduced the circle rate and stamp duty payable during registration of an immovable property in the state budget in July. The relief, aimed at creating demand for housing, was in place till October 30.

The fresh notifications clear apprehension among buyers and builders about the continuity of the relief measures.

Government officials said all queries relating to the earlier rebate period from July 9 to October 30, along with any query taken on Sunday, will be considered valid for the following rebate period.

Explaining the rationale behind the move, one of the notifications read: “..it got overwhelming response from the registrant people and it became difficult for the registration offices to accommodate such heavy rush for registration following the guidelines and restrictions imposed to combat Covid-19 pandemic”.

It goes on to add: “Meanwhile, due to natural calamities like flood situations experienced in different parts of the state and owing to registration offices being closed for several days on account of festivals, a considerable section of the registrant people, who were otherwise ready to avail the benefit, could not avail such benefit.”

Stamp duty now stands at 4 per cent and 3 per cent in urban and rural areas respectively for property up to Rs 1 crore and 5 per cent for urban and 4 per cent rural for property above Rs 1 crore.

The real estate fraternity was understandably happy with the outcome. Harsh Patodia, national president of Credai, the body of builders, welcomed the move. “This would be yet another incentive for the buyer, apart from historic low interest rate and still benign property prices,” Patodia, who is building Trump Tower in Calcutta, said.

Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India, in a statement on Sunday evening said: “We are very pleased with the Bengal government’s decision to extend the stamp duty rebate window till the end of the year. The extension has come at an important cusp of time as we head towards Diwali.”

Baijal went on to add:

“A healthy rise in new demand and supply of residential homes and prevalence of low home loan interest rates will be helpful for the growth of the residential sector in the region. ”

A recent study conducted by Knight Frank said demand for residential property increased significantly in Calcutta as a result of the stamp duty cut.

The demand increased 39 per cent in July 2021, 268 per cent in August and 80 per cent in September compared with a year ago.