Cough up Rs 1000 for partnership deed

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Forum, a body that attempts to redress public issues through courts, has been planning to move court against the administration’s move of ‘exorbitantly hiking’ the rates of all the deeds, except the sale deed.
Syed Nassarullah Shah, chairman of the forum told Kashmir Reader that rates raised by the administration were unreasonably hiked given how the deeds are made.
Early this week, the J & K administration hiked registration rates of all deeds, leases, licences, agreements and attestations. The government has set rates for will deeds at Rs 2,500 against the current rate of Rs 100. Similarly for rent deed, spot on, attestation whose rates barely used to be few rupees have gone up to 2,500 and Rs 5,000 respectively.
“It is fine if the government has changed the rates of sales deeds. The forum feels it is okay, but for others, it is absolutely unreasonable. We are working on it to see how we can move to the court against it. It may be good for the government, but for no doubt it is bad for the people,” said Shah who has represented judicial trade bodies for three decades.
The administration’s move comes after the abrogation of Article 370 and setting up a separate department for registration of properties and agreements. In the administrative structure of JK, deeds are to be registered and then stamp duty has to be paid.
Shah quoted many instances to make his point. According to him, for a partnership deed which is made for the setting up of a business unit, a person has to pay Rs 1000 against the current rate of Rs 5. Similarly for will deed, settlement deed, where there is no further purchase of a property, the administration has raised the rates.
Another instance is that of spot on deed, which has to be made in case a person cannot attend the court or office due to illness. In this case, Shah added, that an official has to visit the spot and get the deed done.
“So from Rs 500, one has to pay Rs 5000. So we are challenging it,” Shah, who has also served at the erstwhile registration wing of court for four decades.
The last time the government, he said, had hiked rates some three decades ago, which fluctuated with the time in a people friendly way.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz