India, April 29 -- The Maharashtra government has finalised a private agency to operate 60 private stamp duty and registration offices across the state, offering additional facilities and a better ambience. This move is seen as a step toward privatising the established network of 517 registration and stamp duty offices, similar to the privatisation of passport registration offices.

Last week, the revenue department issued a work order to the private firm, VFS Global Services, to set up and manage stamp duty offices across the state. The firm is expected to provide better ambience for an extra cost of Rs.5,218 per registration. The first phase, comprising 30 centres, will begin in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur and Nashik in the coming month...