Mr. Ramesh Prabhu, Chairman of Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association said that Flat owners wanting to take benefit of Maharashtra Government’s stamp duty amnesty scheme.

The scheme, launched in June this year, says that flat owners have to pay stamp duty at the rate that was applicable when the property was bought until September 2008.

Circular issued in 2006 by the state inspector general of registration and controller of stamps says that the current owner is liable to pay the unpaid stamp duty of the previous occupant of the flat at the current market value.

Mr. Prabhu said, “If there has been a chain of transactions involving a flat over the past two decades and no stamp duty has been paid as required under the sale deed, the present owner must pay the stamp duty on all the earlier sale deeds”. Further he added that people are unaware that such a circular exists.