One Nation, One Registration: State expresses concern

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state has expressed concern over the announcement of ‘One Nation, One Registration’ in the union budget. The budget has announced the establishment of a centralized software whereby deeds and documents can be registered from anywhere in the country. The state’s concern is that this would cause a huge decline in the non-tax income of states. A strong stand will be taken against this. This is the violation of centre-state relations as ensured by the constitution, said minister V N Vasavan. This is part of looting away states’ powers. The right to make laws on land transfer and registration comes under entry six in the concurrent list of the seventh schedule of the constitution. According to entry 63 of the state list in the seventh schedule, the power to determine stamp duties for all documents other than bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes, letters of credit, insurance policies, stock exchanges and proxies rests with the states. The income through registration is one of the major sources of income for the state since the implementation of goods and service tax. With this power taken away, the states will lose their power to determine stamp duties, which will in turn result in huge decline of the state’s income, said the minister.