Jaipur: In Rajasthan from now on for everything that you need to pay stamp duty, there will be an added cost — a cow protection tax. The state government has started charging 10 per cent surcharge on stamp duty on all item from this month.
The finance department’s order issued last week is a follow up to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s tax proposals for financial year 2017-18.
In her budget speech, the Chief Minister had said, “Surcharge for development of basic infrastructure facilities and protection and propagation of cow and its progeny shall be levied on all the instruments included in the Schedule to the Rajasthan Stamp Act 1998.”
After this, the finance department fixed the rate of 10 per cent surcharge. This means that the instruments which are bought for the purpose of making rent agreements, mortgage papers, lease agreements, power of attorney and all such instruments which are non-judicial in nature will cost more and the amount collected from this surcharge will be enormous.
However, judicial stamps, revenue ticket and insurance ticket have been excluded from this order. There was infrastructure surcharge of 10 per cent being charged prior to surcharge on cow propagation.
Notably, the decision was made after several suggestions were made by the Cabinet sub-committee, which was constituted in 2016 to find out ways to evolve funds for protection of the cows in the state. It was a decision taken after the deaths of thousands of cows due to mismanagement.
