Mysore/Mysuru: Days after the Karnataka State Government hinted at a significant increase in property guidance value, Sub-Registrar Offices have extended their operating hours from 8 am to 8 pm until Sept. 30. Currently, these offices operate from 10 am to 5.30 pm. Additionally Sub-Registrar Offices are functioning as usual from 8 am to 8 pm on Sept. 23 (today), which is typically a Government holiday as it falls on the fourth Saturday of the month.

The five Sub-Registrar Offices in the city are at Mysuru East (Dr. Rajkumar Road), Mysuru West (near Vijayanagar Water Tank), Mysuru North (Mini Vidhana Soudha, Nazarbad), Mysuru South (Ramakrishnanagar) and MUDA Office.

There are nine Sub-Registrar Offices in Mysuru district — T. Narasipur, Bannur, Nanjangud, K.R. Nagar, Mirle, Periyapatna, Bettadapura, Hunsur and H.D. Kote.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Mysuru North Sub-Registrar Kiran said that they have been functioning today as per the Government order.

“From 10 am to 5.30 pm, it will be regular work till Sept. 30 and the extra hours (from 8 am to 10 am and from 5.30 pm to 8 pm) will be used to prepare for the new guidance value implementation and clearance of pending registration,”  he said.

This decision of extended hours comes in response to the Government’s announcement on Sept. 19 that guidance values of properties may rise by 20-30 percent than the existing rates starting from Oct. 1, 2023. However, in densely populated IT corridors, the increase may reach as high as 50 percent.

There has been a significant surge in the number of online applications for property registrations filed before Sept. 30. To accommodate this surge in applications, the Department of Stamps and Registration has decided to extend the operating hours of Sub-Registrar Offices.

Officials have pointed out that in accordance with the rules, stamp duty must be collected based on the date of property registration, not the date of the application.

Failing to process all applications seeking registration slots before Sept. 30 would result in the new guidance value being applied, and stamp duty would be levied according to the new rates.

Therefore, the decision to extend office hours aims to provide a window for clearing all pending applications seeking registration slots before Sept. 30.

The last revision of property guidance values took place in 2018, coming into effect on Jan. 1, 2019.

While it had been a common practice to revise these values annually, it was halted due to the impact of the COVID pandemic on the real estate market in  subsequent years.

During the presentation of the State Budget for 2023-24 on July 7, Chief Minister Siddharamaiah proposed a revision of property guidance values.

The guidance value represents the minimum value at which the sale of a property can be registered with the government and is also known as the circle rate in some States.