Circular No. 3 3, Registration Procedure for Document Properties Below 20 Cents, 2018
The Tamil Nadu Registration Department, through Circular No. 3 3, Na.Ka. No. 10021/L1/2018, dated 11 April 2018, issued by the Head of the Registration Department, clarifies how registration officers must classify and value certain small properties described as agricultural land. It requires site inspection for qualifying properties, sets out when agricultural or house site guideline value applies, and gives document holders a right to appeal a house site classification.
What the circular governs
Circular No. 3 3 of the Tamil Nadu Registration Department applies when a property is written as agricultural land and the guideline register also shows an agricultural value. It addresses properties below 10 cents in village areas and below 20 cents in other areas.
The guidance affects document holders, registration officers, District Registrars and registration audit officials. It is intended to prevent unsupported treatment of agricultural land as a house site while ensuring that land currently used as a house site receives the appropriate valuation.
Classification and valuation
Circular No. 3 3 requires the registration officer to inspect a qualifying property and decide whether its current use is agricultural land or a house site.
- If the property is found to be agricultural land, the agricultural guideline value for the relevant survey number must be followed.
- If the property is found to be a house site, the Sub Registrar may apply the highest house site value found in the relevant survey number and surrounding survey numbers.
- The inspection report must record the use of the property, the use of surrounding land, registration details in the encumbrance certificate and any other available evidence.
- Where one property covers several survey numbers within the same four boundaries, the total property within those boundaries determines whether the relevant area threshold is met.
- If the property was previously sold as a house site and is now described as agricultural land with the same extent, it must be classified as a house site.
- For a property within an urban boundary where a street value applies, that street value must be followed.
Audit officials should not classify land as a house site without previous house site registrations or other proper evidence. Agricultural land above 10 cents in village areas or above 20 cents in urban areas should not be treated as a house site without supporting evidence when the guideline register contains an agricultural value.
Decision and appeal
Circular No. 3 3 requires the registration officer to give the document holder a written decision together with the site inspection report. If the property is classified as a house site, the document holder may appeal to the relevant District Registrar.
The District Registrar must inspect the property and decide whether it is a house site or agricultural land within one week. The decision must describe the nature and use of the property and surrounding land, and a copy must be sent to the document holder.
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Common questions
Will every property below 20 cents be inspected before registration?
No. The guidance identifies properties below 10 cents in village areas and below 20 cents in other areas when they are described as agricultural land and the guideline register also shows an agricultural value.
What value applies if the inspection confirms agricultural use?
The registration officer must follow the agricultural guideline value shown for the relevant survey number.
What happens if the registration officer treats my land as a house site?
The officer must provide the decision and site inspection report. You may appeal to the relevant District Registrar, who must inspect the property and decide within one week.
Can land previously sold as a house site now be registered as agricultural land?
If the same extent was previously sold as a house site, Circular No. 3 3 requires it to be classified as a house site even if the current document describes it as agricultural land.
