Maharashtra Ready Reckoner Rates to be declared after 31st May 2020.

On Monday, the Inspector General of Registration and Stamps (IGR) said Maharashtra’s Ready Reckoner prices will be declared after May 31 owing to the COVID-19 outbreak.

It was expected to declare ready reckoner rates for this year on April 1. In an order released on Monday, state IGR Omprakash Deshmukh said the rates will be declared later in compliance with the additional instructions of the government. He added that the current ready reckoner rates would apply in the state till May 31 or the date the government would issue the instructions.

Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said last week that this year’s ready reckoner (RR) rates had been deferred in the wake of the state’s coronavirus outbreak.

The ready reckoner rates, which are the prices of a residential, land, or commercial property for a defined location, are released annually on March 31 and enforced from April 1. All real estate calculations, such as stamp duty, registration, premiums and tax collection, are based on the ready reckoner rates.

Deshmukh, in his order released under the Maharashtra Stamp (Determination of True Market Value) Rules, 1995, said the government could not publish the rates for 2020-21 following the coronavirus outbreak.

“The state government has instructed to proceed with the 2019-20 rates until further instructions. The government has ordered the IGR to maintain the prices until 31 May or further orders. All field officers of the 516 registration offices throughout the state have been given appropriate instructions and they must act accordingly,” said the IGR.

Representatives of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai) also urged the government not to raise the ready reckoner rates on the ground that the COVID-19 lockdown has slowed down the already slowing real estate market.