The Bengal government has extended the 2 per cent rebate in the stamp duty and 10 per cent reduction in circle rates till March 31, 2023.

In a notification issued on Thursday, the state finance department extended both the extant notifications citing the interest of public service and that of home buyers. The latest extension also follows representation from the real estate industry with the state government amid rising interest rates.

“The real estate market has been doing well because of the rebate extended by the government and this year the sales have been brisk. Added with that there has been record collection on account of stamp duty and registration fees by the government of Bengal,” said Sushil Mohta, chairman Merlin Group and president — Credai Bengal.

The industry anticipates a record revenue collection by the state during the current fiscal in excess of Rs 8,000 crore.

“We hope that the total collection this year should cross Rs 8,000 crore against Rs 7000 crore last year by March 2023.

“The highest collection ever has been not only due to the new sales but also the number of people coming forward for registration of deeds who did transactions long back say 20 to 25 years back but didn’t register. Therefore, it is a ‘win-win’ situation for all the stakeholders i.e. the government, public at large and the developers,” Mohta said.

Increasing interest rates have escalated the cost for homebuyers and both remission of stamp duty and temporary reduction on circle rates could act as compensation for real estate purchases within March 2023, according to the industry.

Knight Frank has estimated that since the initial stamp duty cut announcement in July 2021, 72,790 residential properties have been registered in the city in 17 months till November 2022. The preceding 17 months prior to the introduction of the stamp duty rebate saw the registration of 44,736 units.