Fourfold increase in land prices from September 1

Land registration fees to be reduced by 6-8 per cent
The government has decided to increase the price of land four times in a bid to increase non-tax revenue income, sources in the Prime Minister’s Office told New Age on Sunday.
An official of the PMO said that the increased rate would come into effect from the first of September.
On the other hand, the government will reduce the registration fee by 6 to 8 per cent from September I, said the official. ‘Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the decision to increase the land price on Saturday.’
‘The proposal will be included the upcoming budget speech. The government has failed to increase the revenue income from the land registration fee as the fee is higher compared to India’s,’ said a senior official of the finance ministry.
He also said that land buyers usually show lower prices of land on paper to avoid paying the full registration fee and to also conceal their real income.
In line with the proposal, the government has increased the price of the land on the ‘mauza’ basis. The price of land in the Dhaka and Chittagong City Corporation has been increased four times.
Per bigha (20 katha) of land in Dhanmondi residential area cost Tk 80 lakh as per the government price fixed in 1993.
In the Gulshan residential area the official price of per bigha of land was Tk 2 crore, while the present market price of per katha of land in the area is Tk 1 crore to Tk 1.5 crore.
The price of land in Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal city corporations has also increased by three times. In Chittagong city, the price of per acre [three bighas almost] of land was set at Tk 1.50 crore. In Rajshahi city, the official price of per bigha is Tk 20 lakh now and in Khulna city Tk 2.60 crore now.
The official land prices were last fixed some 15 years back, and they were much lower than the present prices.
The prices of the lands in the upazilas of the districts of Bogra, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Tongi, Savar and Keraniganj have also increased three times.
Land prices in districts across the country have increased 2.5 times according to the existing mauza price.
The land ministry should immediately settle the pending case and bring the land registration directorate under the jurisdiction of the land ministry, according to the proposal.
One-stop service should be introduced in the land registration directorate and land survey, recording and land management process should be computerised immediately.
According to the proposal, land registration fee will be reduced by 8 per cent in urban areas and 6 per cent in the rural areas.
The registration-related cases will be resolved within 45 days in Dhaka and Savar and in the rest of the country in only 15 days.
Stamp tariff will be reduced to 3 per cent from existing 5 per cent of the land price in the urban areas and to 2 per cent from the existing 5 per cent in the rural areas.
The registration fee will be decreased to 2 per cent from 2.5 per cent of the land price in both the urban and rural areas.
Local government tax will be reduced to 1 per cent from 2 per cent of the land price in the urban and rural areas.
Besides, the tax deducted at source will be reduced to 2 per cent from 5 per cent of the land price in urban areas and in the rural areas to 1 per cent from 5 per cent. This will also be applicable to non-farming lands whose price is Tk 1,00,000 or lower.
Land secretary Delwar Hossain told reporters on Sunday that the government would earn more revenue from land registration fees because landowners will be eager to pay the fee to the national exchequer as it has been brought down to a rational level.
The International Monetary Fund had earlier asked the government to raise the base price for land in the city’s posh areas.

Courtesy of NewAgebd