The Gujarat government on February 11 deferred by nearly two months the implementation of its decision to double the ‘jantri’ or the annual statement of rates (ASR) for immovable properties in the State in the “wider” interest of the real estate sector and public. Developers had opposed the sharp hike in ASR.
“Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel recently increased the jantri rates. It has been decided to implement it from April 15, 2023. Accordingly, the implementation of jantri rate increase as announced on February 4, 2023, is being postponed and will be implemented from April 15, 2023,” the government said in a statement.
ASR is an essential guideline for the assessment of stamp duty, which is charged on the agreement of the sale of a property. It provides an indication of the property prices for every location or a specified area within an administrative boundary.
The government said the decision was being taken “in the wider interest of the real estate sector of the State and the general public”. It had doubled the jantri rates from February 5 across Gujarat, in a revision coming after a gap of 12 years.
Earlier, real estate developers had protested the steep rise in the rates through what they called a sudden announcement and demanded from the government to postpone the implementation of the rate hike till May. They had also demanded a partial rollback of the hike.
The government had on February 4 announced hike in jantri rates saying that there had been a sharp rise in the price of immovable properties in the State due to rapid industrialisation, urban and rural development and economic activities. It was being done “to give continued impetus to the State’s development and due market value to citizen’s properties," it had said.
As per rules, jantri rates are the government-calculated minimum rates of land and property in Gujarat below which a property can’t be registered.
