Despite continuous decline in the incidence of land property transfers in recent months, the government's earnings from this important area have been increasing, official data showed.
If the current pace of the revenue collection from land transfers continues, the government will be able to earn a major part of its non-tax revenue projected for the fiscal year (FY) 2017-18.
Officials, however, attributed such an increase in the government's overall revenues from land transfer to a considerable rise in transactions of high-valued property, coupled with high registration costs.
They also said the tendency among parties involved in land transfers to change the nature of the transacted land has gradually been coming down.
The government earned around Tk 21.51 billion from registration of 1.6 million deeds during the first six months of the current fiscal, according to the office of the Inspector General of Registration (IGR).
Some 1.7 million deeds were registered during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal (July-December in FY 2017). The IGR office had fetched revenue worth Tk 18.47 billion against those deeds.
In the FY'17, the government received around Tk 38 billion worth of revenue from over 3.0 million deeds. The number of registered deeds also declined drastically over two previous years -- FY 2016 and FY 2015 -- when the number stood at 3.2 million and 3.4 million respectively.
The government earns revenues from various fees and non-judicial stamps sale from this particular revenue head. Besides, some NBR taxes are also realised during the registration of land transfer deeds.
When contacted, IGR Khan Md. Abdul Mannan admitted the decline in the rate of land transfer. He, however, said that revenue earnings from such transfers have increased significantly in the current fiscal year.
"We've already collected Tk 80 billion, including NBR taxes, during first part of current FY," he said, adding that higher rate of registration charges and local government fees contributed to the rise in revenue from land transfers.
About the decline in the numbers of land transfer deeds, he said many buyers do not feel encouraged to invest now because of the upcoming national election, which is being reflected in the market.
At the same time, expatriate Bangladeshis, who, on an average, have been involved in nearly 25 per cent of annual land transfers, are found to be less interested these days.
Talking about the matter, Sub-Registrar of Mirsarai Land Registry Office Lutfar Rahman Khan listed the rise in transaction of high-valued land a key reason behind the revenue increase.
He said the government has been developing roads and building bridges across the country on a large-scale. This has particularly enhanced the land value in many places.
"People are looking for land around Mirsarai economic zone where the land price has already gone up substantially," he said citing an example.
Talking to the FE, President of Bangladesh Registration Service Association (BRSA) Dipak Kumar Sarker said land prices have gone up by 20-30 per cent in line with the latest revised minimum value of land, which came into effect from January 2016.
"We make the calculation taking into account the average price of the deeds sold in a particular mouza (area). We'll revise it again later this year when new land prices are made available by the government," he added.
He said many buyers do not show the actual prices of land during registration to avoid incurring additional costs.
He added that people's propensity to change the nature of the land to dodge taxes seem to have changed. "I don't know the exact reason but it is a positive sign. Anti-Corruption Commission's (ACC) intensified focus on in the land department could be a reason for it."
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