G.O. (Ms.) No.69, Registration Department Fee Amendments and Ceiling Revisions, 2023

What the government changed

The Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes and Registration [J2] Department issued G.O. (Ms.) No.69 on July 7, 2023. It accepts the Inspector General of Registration's proposal to amend the existing Table of Fees under the Registration Act, 1908, and to revise maximum ceiling limits for stamp duty and registration fees under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, and the Registration Act, 1908.

The government recorded that Registration Department fees had not changed for more than 20 years and were not considered proportionate to the services provided. The amendments to the Table of Fees came into force on July 10, 2023.

Who may be affected

G.O. (Ms.) No.69 may affect:

• Buyers, owners and developers registering property related documents.
• Parties registering construction agreements.
• Buyers registering sale certificates issued by courts, revenue authorities, banks or court appointed liquidators.
• People applying for copies, duplicates, counterparts, scanning and other Registration Department services covered by the amended Table of Fees.
• Registration officers who must calculate and collect the revised amounts.

Key fee provisions

The notification makes numerous substitutions across the Table of Fees. Important provisions stated in the text include:

• Construction agreements attract a registration fee of three rupees for every one hundred rupees, or part of one hundred rupees, on the value or amount on which stamp duty is payable.
• Sale certificates issued by a civil court or revenue authority attract a registration fee of two rupees for every one hundred rupees, or part of it, on the value or amount on which stamp duty is payable.
• Sale certificates issued by other authorities, including an authorised bank officer or a court appointed liquidator, attract four rupees for every one hundred rupees, or part of it, on the applicable value or amount.
• Scanning charges are revised to Rs.200 for the first ten pages and Rs.100 for every additional page. Endorsement pages are excluded when counting pages for originals and office generated duplicates.
• A fixed fee of Rs.5,000 applies to a duplicate or counterpart where the claimant or beneficiary is one person, except for a duplicate or counterpart of a lease or agreement.
• Several other fixed fees and maximum amounts in the Table of Fees are increased. The supplied text states that maximum ceiling limits are revised but does not provide the resulting ceiling figures.