Union minister for urban development and housing M Venkaiah Naidu said that his ministry has written to state governments to exempt affordable houses from stamp duty. Stamp duty is a state subject, with the state government fixing the rate and collecting the duty. 

Addressing Credai, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India, the minister said that the Centre would ensure that there was no net tax escalation in the housing sector, particularly the affordable housing segment, following the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST). 

He said that the inclusion of the real estate sector in the GST framework would help the industry. 

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The minister expressed his helplessness vis-a-vis the exclusion of stamp duty from GST, saying, "States have, in their wisdom, not adhered to the inclusion of stamp duty under GST." "Thus, we need to move forward from this debate," he said.