The revenue loss to the government, caused by wrong fixation of guideline value or classification of registration by the registering authority, will have to be borne by the property owners.
The Tamil Nadu government has issued guidelines for the Sub-Registrars, instructing them not to allow further registration of properties in which loss by way of registration/stamp fee was detected and confirmed during an audit.
Official sources said that the registering officers were directed to refuse registration unless the loss to the government was paid by the owner/owners of the property with effect from the date of the transaction that had caused the loss.
However, in most cases, the original owners showed no interest in settling the dues with the government, while the subsequent buyers requested the Sub-Registrars to collect the loss proportionate to their share of ownership and accept the document for registration (for further sale).
Clarifying on this issue, the government said that losses could be collected from the current landowners on further registration of the property whenever they came forward to pay the shortfall proportionate to the extent owned by them, under Section 47 A(4) of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. In case the current owners refused to pay either the total loss or the loss proportionate to their share, the Sub-Registrars were told to enumerate the present and past owners/promoters of the property presented for registration and let them know their liability, through a notice, to compensate the government for the loss.
If dereliction on the part of the registration officials caused the loss, disciplinary action would be taken against them, the sources said.
However, sources in the Tamil Nadu Registration Department Officials’ Association said that Sub-Registrars could not be held solely responsible for wrong fixation of guideline value or classification of the registration. Registrants often colluded with document writers and misled the registering authorities to save money by way of reducing the registration/stamp fee, they said.
