The department of registration and stamps is suggesting that the present stamp duty formula, which leads to meagre collections, be changed in favour of one based on the value of the auction, premium or royalty, which will boost revenues.
In an attempt to tap additional sources of revenue, the state government is planning to increase the stamp duty levied on auctions and concessions of major and minor minerals.
The department of registration and stamps is suggesting that the present stamp duty formula, which leads to meagre collections, be changed in favour of one based on the value of the auction, premium or royalty, which will boost revenues.
"Now, the (agreements regarding) sand mining (concessions) are made on a Rs100 stamp paper. We have suggested that this be changed to a system where stamp duty be charged at 0.1% for auctions up to Rs10 lakh and 0.2% for values over Rs10 lakh," Dr Ramaswami N, inspector general of registration and controller of stamps, told dna. These agreements are made for a period of less than one year.
"For major minerals like coal and bauxite, we follow an old 1992 formula to calculate the stamp duty. But then, there was no open auction. Now, there is an open auction and the values are known… these are basically leases," he pointed out.
Ramaswami said that they had suggested that the stamp duty be based on the value of the auction as compared to the previous system laid down by the state industries department, where it was based on the area of the mines, leading to meagre revenue generation. A proposal in this regard has been sent to the state revenue department.
Listed minor minerals include building stones, gravel, ordinary clay, ordinary sand, limes stone used for lime burning, boulders, kankar, murum, brick earth, bentonite, road metal, slate, marble and stones used for making household utensils. On the other hand, the important major minerals occurring in Maharashtra include coal, iron ore, bauxite, manganese ore, and tungsten ore.
As against major minerals, the minor minerals fall under the purview of the state government. This also includes the powers to frame rules, procedures to grant mineral concessions and prescribe royalty rates. The state government earns around Rs1,200 crore annually through the auction of minor minerals.
The lease period for major minerals are for the longer term, so, this will translate into a one-time recovery for the department, but generate significant revenue.
Out of Maharashtra's 3,07,713 sq km geographical area, the likely mineral bearing area is about 58,465 sq km, which is around 19% of the total area. The highest mineral bearing area is in Nagpur division, followed by Konkan, Amravati, Aurangabad, Pune and Nashik.
The department also plans to speed up pending appeal cases to boost revenues.
The stamp duty and registration department has a collection target of Rs21,000 crore in the current fiscal. By September end, the department had garnered revenues of Rs10,159 crore, which was more by almost Rs900 crore than the collections for the same period in the previous financial year.
In 2014-15, the department of registration and stamps had a Rs19,426 crore target, but actual collections were marginally higher at Rs19,969 crore. In 2013-14, the department saw Rs18,675.98 crore being collected compared to about Rs17,400 crore in 2012-13. However, for the past three financial years, the total number of documents registered were static at around 23 lakh.
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