Circular No. 04/2023, Display of Document Writer Fee Details, 2023
The Head of the Tamil Nadu Registration Department issued Circular No. 04/2023, File No. 11565/S1/2013, dated 23 May 2023, directing licensed document writers to display the prescribed document preparation fees clearly outside their offices. District Registrars must ensure compliance, monitor receipts and excess collections, and take appropriate action against document writers who do not follow the instructions.
What the circular governs
Circular No. 04/2023, File No. 11565/S1/2013, dated 23 May 2023, concerns document writers licensed under the Tamil Nadu Document Writers Licence Rules, 1982. It states that licensed document writers are bound by those rules and must charge for preparing documents according to the fee schedule attached to them.
The Head of the Tamil Nadu Registration Department issued the instructions after continuing complaints that document writers were collecting additional money from members of the public by improperly using the names of Registration Officers and registration office employees.
Who is affected
The instructions apply to:
- All licensed document writers in Tamil Nadu.
- District Registrars responsible for monitoring document writers in their districts.
- Sub-Registrars and Registration Officers handling documents for registration.
- Members of the public who pay document writers to prepare documents.
Property buyers, owners and other document parties can use the displayed fee information and the required receipt to understand what they are being charged for document preparation.
Key requirements
Circular No. 04/2023 requires the following steps:
- Every document writer must clearly display the prescribed document preparation fees on a board in front of the document writer's office.
- District Registrars must give suitable instructions to document writers within their districts about displaying the fees.
- Registration offices must display document writer fee details on their notice boards.
- District Registrars must continue monitoring, including through surprise inspections, whether document writers collect additional fees.
- Every document writer must issue a fee receipt to the document parties for each document prepared.
- Registration Officers must ensure that the fee receipt is submitted with the document before registration is completed.
- Sub-Registrars must scan the receipt with the relevant document as a reference document and preserve it in the office file.
- Details of the receipt requirement must be displayed on notice boards in all Sub-Registrar Offices.
The receipt and filing procedure is stated to have taken effect on 1 March 2023. District Registrars must ensure that document writers and Registration Officers follow the earlier instructions and must take appropriate action against document writers who fail to comply.
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Common questions
Must a document writer display the fee for preparing documents?
Yes. Every licensed document writer must clearly display the prescribed document preparation fees on a board in front of the document writer's office.
Am I entitled to a receipt from the document writer?
Yes. A document writer must provide the document parties with a fee receipt for the document prepared.
What happens to the document writer's receipt at the Sub-Registrar Office?
The Registration Officer must ensure that the receipt is submitted with the document. The Sub-Registrar must scan it as a reference document with the relevant document and preserve it in the office file.
Who monitors document writers who collect additional fees?
District Registrars must monitor collections, including through surprise inspections, and take appropriate action against document writers who do not follow the instructions.
