The Bengal government has introduced e-registration of properties, and offered additional discount, in an apparent bid to generate revenue, which has almost dried up because of the lockdown.

“We are introducing e-registration of properties where people can get provisional digital registration certificates, which will meet their legal requirements. The initiative has been taken due to the restrictions on movement in this lockdown period,” said Rajiva Sinha, the chief secretary.

He explained that registration of properties require biometric data, which will be collected after the lockdown is withdrawn. Once the process of taking biometric data is over, buyers will get final registration deeds.

The state government has also announced a 20 per cent discount, with a ceiling of Rs 20,000, on the registration value of the properties for those who will apply for e-registration. Such a discount is now offered if a deed of conveyance is registered within one year of a property receiving the completion certificate through an online process.

The government has decided to offer another 20 per cent discount on the balance amount, raising the total discount to 36 per cent of the registration fee. In Bengal, 1 per cent of the deed value is considered as registration fee.

Under the new system, a buyer can upload the final sale deed (deed of conveyance) through the e-deed module of the registration directorate. On payment of the fees online, a provisional registration certificate will be issued.

“An estimate by the finance department suggested that the state can generate a few hundred crores during the lockdown through this,” said a source.

A section of officials, however, pointed out that the system had actually been launched on January 1, but could not be made popular as there were some glitches.

Though the government was hopeful that the new measure would be adopted for e-registration of deals, sources in the realty sector said there was no clarity on how to respond to queries if the registrar sought clarification.

“There was an apprehension that funds spent on stamp duty and registration fee might get stuck if the buyer cannot respond to the queries the registrar may have. But I believe the government is making sure that correspondence takes place over email and the final draft is prepared before payment is made,” Sushil Mohta, president of Credai West Bengal, the state chapter of realtors, said on Thursday. Legal experts dealing with property matters said the scope of registration allowed by the government so far was limited.

The state has only allowed deeds of conveyance (the final sale document) for the e-registration process. However, there are multiple other agreements that have been left out of the ambit.

For instance, agreement for sale, the document which ties the buyer and seller of a property at the initial stage, especially for under-construction properties, are not part of it. According to the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Authority, a property cannot be sold without a registered sale agreement.

“We are unable to enter into any contract with prospective buyers because sale agreements cannot be registered online,” said a Calcutta-based builder.