THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major move that could bring a whopping Rs 300 crore into the state Exchequer, the government is set to issue an order on the amnesty scheme for settling property undervaluation cases this week. The amnesty scheme was a 2018-19 budget announcement of Finance Minister Thomas Isaac.
However, sources with the Finance Department said settlement commissions headed by judges will not be formed as announced in the budget. Shortage of judges and high cost forced the government to drop the suggestion.
The amnesty scheme will offer defaulters to pay 30 per cent of the deficient stamp duty to settle the cases. Cases in which deficient stamp duty is up to Rs 5,000 will be fully exempted.
The government expects the scheme would fetch Rs 300 crore.
According to the Registration Department, there are over 10 lakh property deals in which undervaluation was detected. With the new decision to exclude cases of deficient stamp duty of up to Rs 5,000 there will be a considerable decrease in the total figure. In the first amnesty scheme after the implementation of fair value, 1.31 lakh cases were settled and Rs 30.38 crore was collected. In the second amnesty in 2016, 56,428 cases were settled and Rs11.20 crore collected.
The Registration Department is busy preparing a centralised database of defaulters. The government has warned of revenue recovery proceedings against those who fail to settle cases in the amnesty scheme. Undervaluation will also be recorded in the computerised database of the Registration Department.