Land and house registration revenue collected in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2013-14 has exceeded the target.According to the Department of Land Reform and Management (DoLRM), it has collected Rs 1.799 billion from registration gain tax against a target of Rs 1.364 billion in the first quarter across the country. “The target we set for this fiscal year was not very ambitious which is why we easily could exceed it. The realty sector is gradually recovering and people are gaining confidence to invest in property and real estate again unlike in previous years when people withheld investment expecting a further correction in price,“ says Kamal Timilsina, undersecretary of DoLRM.

Timilsina further states that corrective measure by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for banks and financial institutions (BFIs) and government facilitation of housing and apartments provided a boost to the sector. Stakeholders also believe that signs of political stability and economic growth are positive signs and have helped the recovery of the real estate sector.

According to DoLRM, the Kathmandu valley alone acquired Rs 813.559 million registration revenue of which Land Revenue Office (LRO) Dillibazar collected the highest amount of Rs 295.967 million for the first quarter of this fiscal year. Gopal Giri, chief land revenue officer at Dillibazar, says, “The land value of our jurisdiction is high and we cover almost all wards of Kathmandu Metropolitan City except for four wards. This is why the contribution of Dillibazar LRO was highest among other LROs of the valley.“

There are five LROs in the valley of which Kalanki acquired Rs 118.642 million, Chabahil and Lalitpur collected Rs 153.809 million and Rs 145.205 million respectively. Bhaktapur LRO witnessed minimum revenue collection which stood at Rs 99.936 million. Hari Bakhati, chief land revenue officer at Bhaktapur, says, “Bhaktapur is the smallest district among all and it has a jurisdiction of only 16 village development committees. The land value of these districts is comparatively lower.“ However, Bakhati states that they witnessed a 10 per cent increment compared to the same period last fiscal. Informing that the major chunk of revenue was as collateral for loans from BFIs, he says, “As NRB has extended the ceiling we are collecting revenue from loans. And there is also increased transaction of land and houses from end-users.“

Officials are optimistic that they will exceed the target revenue collection by 10 to 20 per cent this year. Giri says, “The smooth going land transactions indicate that people are slowly gaining confidence in the real estate sector.

Unlike three years back, there has been no superficial increment in land transactions. So, we are hopeful that this fiscal year will turn out to be good for the realty sector.“

On the four on-going projects of land pooling in Bhaktapur, Bakhati says, “The realty sector will get a further boost if the government can complete the project on time. But it is taking a long time.“ Property transactions at present are taking place on a need basis only, he informs. “People are not investing in property as there is no certainty, however, this year will turn out to be positive,“ he adds.

source: the himalayan times,6 Dec 2013