Punjab waives registration fee for sale of property to spouse, kin

Varinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25

The Punjab Government today waived the registration fee charged for the sale or transfer of property between spouses and blood relations in urban and rural areas with immediate effect.

The levy of registration fee often prompted people to hold properties on general power of attorney leading to family disputes.

In the rural areas, such beneficiaries earlier had to pay 2 per cent (1 per cent infrastructure cess and 1 per cent registration charges) of the collector rate as registration fee. In the urban areas, people had to cough up 5 per cent (4 per cent infrastructure cess and 1 per cent registration fee) for such transactions.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is believed to be the brainchild behind the waiver, which has come at a time when people are upset at being made to pay a huge fee to the state government in the name of infrastructure cess or registration charges in case of intra-family transfer of properties.

People were also peeved at the levy of stamp duty on registration of power of attorneys, particularly in the urban areas of Punjab.

Apparently sensing their “displeasure”, the SAD-BJP government has brought down the stamp duty on the registration of power of attorney for sale of property or transfer of possession.

It has been slashed from the existing 2 per cent to 0.5 per cent and will be adjustable towards the payable stamp duty at the time of execution of sale deed with respect to the property in question.

On all other powers of attorney, a stamp duty of Rs 2,000 will be levied, said Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia.

The state government, he said, had also decided to rationalise collector rates throughout the state and a high-level committee comprising Financial Commissioner (Revenue) and Principal Secretary (Finance) had been constituted under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal.

He said the committee would submit its report to the council of ministers for a final decision.

The minister pointed out that a large number of allottees had availed of the “golden opportunity” of getting their immoveable properties (plots/houses) allotted by the government or a public sector undertaking or local bodies registered through conveyance deeds at rates mentioned in their allotment letters.

The allottees were required to get conveyance deeds executed at the collector rate, which was linked to the present market rate of property. Majithia urged all such allotees to get conveyance deeds of their properties registered by the June 9 deadline.