Though Kerala govt reduced building permit fee, refund of excess amount to be delayed

Thiruvananthapuram: Although the building permit fee has been reduced, the refund of the surcharge paid earlier will be delayed. The higher fee was charged from April 10, 2023. It may take up to a year for the excess amount to be credited to the applicant’s account. There was widespread protest against this sudden hike in fees.

The additional Rs 177.79 crore was utilised for the development of local self-government bodies. Repayment in phases via online means is being considered. To facilitate this, arrangements need to be made in K-smart (Municipalities) and ILGMS (Gram Panchayat).

The government needs to issue an order indicating the revised fees before implementing the reduction in fees up to 60 percent which is scheduled to come into effect from August 1 onwards.

Refunds will be made on a priority basis after checking the online application. Those paying the fee on July 31 will also have to make payments as per the old rate.

Kerala has the lowest fees when compared to other states in India. The Central Finance Commission has a requirement that the revenue of Municipal Corporations should increase in proportion to the state GDP. 24 Municipal Corporations lost their grant due to failure to achieve this. The CAG and the State Finance Commission have constantly demanded that local bodies should increase their own income.  

Change in application fee

 

Scrutiny fee for layout approval per square metre (Rs)