Pune: The state registration and stamps department has recorded a nearly 17% rise in revenue in the first four months of the current financial year, collecting Rs21,128.3 crore, even as ready reckoner (RR) rates were kept unchanged, officials told TOI on Tuesday.The amount collected is up by Rs3,048.2 crore from Rs18,080.1 crore in the corresponding period last year.The increase comes against the backdrop of a decision by state govt to maintain RR rates at last year’s levels for 2026-27, citing the global economic situation and the slowdown in the construction sector.Data from the department showed that document registrations rose from 15.63 lakh in the first four months of 2025-26 to 17.11 lakh during the same period this year. The increase included around one lakh additional lease and rental agreement registrations and nearly one lakh more registrations of new homes.“Revenue growth has largely been driven by higher-value property registrations,” an official from the registration and stamps department told TOI.Joint Inspector General of Registration Rajendra Muthe said the department’s focus on stricter enforcement had also contributed to higher collections. “Inspections at registration offices have been intensified, scrutiny of stamp duty assessments has been strengthened and action against stamp duty evasion has been stepped up. These measures have helped improve revenue realisation,” he said.Muthe added that the robust performance in the first four months has strengthened the department’s confidence of achieving its annual revenue target of Rs68,500 crore.Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule had earlier said govt decided against revising RR rates after receiving representations from various stakeholders and considering the prevailing global uncertainties, including the impact of the West Asia conflict on the economy and the real estate sector.Officials said the decision to retain RR rates had provided stability to the property market, while revisions have been carried out only in select value zones where development plans were approved or land use changed from agricultural to residential, including areas under 10 nagar parishads and one municipal corporation. Developers had requested that there be a status quo to the rates.Last year, the state retained the average 3.9% increase in RR rates that had been notified for 2025-26, while the previous statewide revision before that was undertaken in 2022-23, when rates were increased by an average of 5%.
