The State government’s e-payment
initiative for stamp duty and registration charges is a step towards
streamlining the process.
With an aim to creating a
hassle-free environment for the recovery
of stamp duty and registration charges, the state government recently announced that it will launch e-payment gateways.
Additionally, the government would
also facilitate payment of stamp
duty for leave and licence deals through the internet by applying digital signatures.
The state government
intends to reduce interface between its employees and the tax payer and thereby
curb corrupt practices through e-payment.
Incidentally, the collection of stamps and registration
is the second highest after value added tax and sales tax in the state.
Moreover, the idea is to make payment possible through credit and debit cards.
The state government also proposes to introduce payment
of stamp duty for leave and licence deals through digital
signatures. For this, the licensor
and licensee need to have digital signatures, which would bring in more
security.
Earlier, Project SARITA (Stamps and Registration Information
Technology based Administration), which is operational since
January 2001, encompasses the entire state of Maharashtra. Till
date, close to 2.2 million documents have been registered across the state and
revenue handled is Rs 5,000 crore. Approximately, eight million people directly benefit
from SARITA, annually, which has seen innovative application of
the public private partnership in the betterment of quality of service given to
millions.
These current initiatives are part of the 32 key resource areas (KRA)
fixed by the state to increase the pace of
development and revenue collection.
The State department of registration
and stamps has 412 offices with employee’s strength of 2,500. It
includes registration of deeds or instruments and their preservation.
The registration
process encompasses the sub-functions such as receipt generation, valuation,
recovery of evaded stamp duty, refund of excess stamp duty, adjudication and
issuing notices. So far, the department in its IT initiative has computerised
and automated 360 sub-registrar
offices, 31 district level offices, nine division level offices and the
headquarters in Pune.
The state earns revenue
of Rs 12,500 crore through stamp duty, while about 2,00,000 registration of
leave and license take place annually in the state.
Even though Stamp duty payment is not binding under the Indian
Registration Act for leave
and license deals, it is mandatory
in Maharashtra.
The government had
mobilised Rs 12,500 crore through stamp duty and registration in 2010-11 and it
has set a target of Rs 15,000 crore for 2011-12.
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