Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has announced a significant reduction in stamp duty for transactions involving inherited agricultural land. The move aims to simplify legal processes and ease financial burdens in rural areas. The state government will now charge a nominal stamp duty of Rs 300 in specific cases related to inherited agricultural land, providing relief from the existing jantri-based stamp duty regulations.
The revised provisions include scenarios where heirs relinquish their rights in favor of others, entry of names into records, and partition of jointly held inherited property. Each such transaction will now incur a fixed stamp duty of Rs 300, irrespective of the number of stages involved. Patel mentioned that this decision was made following requests from community leaders and farmer organizations to alleviate the financial strain on farmers and streamline inheritance-related land dealings.
Furthermore, the government has extended the deadline for tenant farmers, known as Ganotiyas, to pay the purchase price of land under the Gujarat Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948. The deadline has been prolonged by one year to December 31, 2026, to facilitate farmers in completing their payments and securing legal ownership. This extension aims to address cases where farmers missed the payment deadline due to lack of awareness, hindering their ability to formalize land ownership and engage in non-agricultural activities.
Officials emphasized that these measures will encourage formal documentation of transactions, reduce disputes, and enhance legal clarity in land ownership. The government anticipates that the streamlined processes will not only benefit farmers but also contribute to improving the overall ease of doing business in the state.
