THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister KN Balagopal announced in the Assembly that the tax rates in the budget have been changed in the Finance Bill to pass the full budget.

Electricity duty has been waived for solar power producers. The duty on consumers who generate their own electricity was earlier increased from 1.2 paise to 15 paise per unit.

Only property other than residential property will be considered in the property litigation in family court. The court fee stamp will be ₹250 for cheque cases up to Rs.50,000. ₹500 for Rs.50,000 to 2 lakhs, ₹750 for Rs 2 lakh to 5 lakhs, ₹1000 for Rs 5 lakhs to 10 lakhs, ₹2000 for Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 20 lakhs, ₹5000 for Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs and Ten thousand rupees for cases above Rs 50 lakhs.

Stamp duty for lease agreements was fixed at Rs 500 up to one year, 10%(minimum Rs 500) of property value for up to 5 years, 20% (minimum Rs 1000) for 5 - 10 years, 35%(minimum Rs 2000) for 10 - 20 years and 60%(minimum Rs 2000) for 20 - 30 years and 90 per cent over 30 years.

There are exemptions in Motor vehicle taxes also. The quarterly road tax for large tourist buses has been reduced from Rs 2,250 to Rs 1,500 for normal seats and Rs 2,000 for push-back seats(Currently Rs.3000). Tax has been reduced from Rs.4000 to Rs.3000 for Sleeper Berth.