Proceedings No. 3383/P1/2021, Final Order on Revision Petition
The Tamil Nadu Registration Department's Inspector General of Registration and Chief Controlling Revenue Authority issued Proceedings No. 3383/P1/2021 on 11 October 2022 concerning pending document P17/2018 at the K.V. Kuppam Sub-Registrar Office. The proceedings accept the revision petition, set aside the District Registrar's classification and deficiency determination, and classify the document as a family release under provision 55A of the Indian Stamp Act.
What the proceedings decide
Proceedings No. 3383/P1/2021 concern a release deed executed on 10 July 2018 and kept pending as document P17/2018 at the K.V. Kuppam Sub-Registrar Office. The property value recorded in the proceedings is Rs.84,26,600, and the document carried stamp duty of Rs.25,000.
The District Registrar had treated the document as having two elements, a partition among family members under provision 45(a) and a release to a person outside the family under provision 55C. On that basis, the District Registrar determined deficient stamp duty of Rs.5,89,862 under section 40(1)(b). No penalty was imposed.
The Inspector General of Registration and Chief Controlling Revenue Authority rejected that classification and set aside the District Registrar's proceedings dated 29 May 2020.
Reasons for the decision
The property had been purchased by K. Pitchandi Gounder. After he died without making an arrangement for it, his wife and children inherited it jointly as his legal heirs. Some heirs then released part of the inherited property in favour of another heir, P. Kumar, who paid Rs.1,00,000 to the persons making the release.
Key findings were:
- All the document parties came within the meaning of family under provision 58(a)(i) of the Indian Stamp Act.
- References in the deed to division and allotment did not prove that the properties had already been partitioned.
- The property boundaries showed that several release deeds, allocating jointly inherited properties among different heirs, had been executed at the same time.
- The pending document was therefore classifiable as a family release under provision 55A.
Who is affected
Proceedings No. 3383/P1/2021 directly affect the executants, P. Kumar, and pending document P17/2018. The reasoning may also be relevant to families presenting release deeds involving jointly inherited property, particularly where wording about division or allotment could be misunderstood as evidence of an earlier partition.
Additional verification required
The Inspector General of Registration and Chief Controlling Revenue Authority noted that the agricultural land had been converted into house sites. The District Registrar was instructed to verify whether the required layout approval had been obtained under the applicable legal rules.
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Common questions
Was the deficient stamp duty of Rs.5,89,862 confirmed?
No. Proceedings No. 3383/P1/2021 set aside the District Registrar's order that had determined deficient stamp duty of Rs.5,89,862.
Why was the deed treated as a family release?
The authority found that all parties fell within the meaning of family under provision 58(a)(i), and that the property had been inherited jointly by the wife and children of K. Pitchandi Gounder.
Did the deed prove that the property had already been partitioned?
No. The authority found that the wording about division and allotment related to several release deeds executed at the same time and did not establish an earlier partition.
Was any further check required before registration?
The District Registrar was instructed to verify whether proper layout approval had been obtained because the agricultural land had been converted into house sites.
