PUNJAB GOVERNOR BANWARILAL PUROHIT HAS ACCORDED APPROVAL TO THREE BILLS 

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said governor Banwarilal Purohit has given his assent to the three bills passed by the state assembly in November last year.

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann thanked governor Banwarilal Purohit for approving the bills namely, the Transfer of Property (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Registration (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023.

These three bills were passed on November 29 last year during the two-day session of the Punjab Assembly.

“Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has approved 3 bills passed by the Punjab Legislative Assembly. 1. The Registration (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023. 2. The Transfer of Property (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023. 3. The Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023,” Mann posted on X.

While thanking the governor, Mann said he expects that other “pro-Punjab” bills will also be approved soon.

The Transfer of Property (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2023 aims at providing the facility of equitable mortgage to the entire state of Punjab as with this bill, the entire state will get the legal facility of equitable mortgage and the treasury of Punjab will also get due stamp duty. Along with this, the stamp duty levied on such loans is being reduced to 0.25% uniformly across the state, with only Rs 250 on a loan of one lakh and only Rs 25,000 on a loan of Rs 1 crore.

The Registration (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023 mandates the registration of any certificate of sale issued to the purchaser of a property sold through public auction, whether conducted by a civil or revenue officer, civil court, or any relevant authority. The bill extends the registration requirement to encompass any instrument or agreement pertaining to the deposit of title deeds (equitable mortgage).

The Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023 deals with powers of attorney outside family relationships as at present, only Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 stamp duty is levied in such power of attorney irrespective of the value of the land.

Last month, the governor gave his assent to the Punjab Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022, which is aimed to dissolve the state vigilance commission.

Purohit has reserved three key bills — the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023 — for the consideration of the President.

The AAP government and the Raj Bhawan had been at loggerheads in the past over several issues. The Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023 paves the way for levying a 2% stamp duty on the transfer of property through a general power of attorney. To save stamp duty levied on sale deeds, often properties are sold through power of attorney which can be revoked at any time and its legal recognition in any manner is not equivalent to a sale deed, said an official release.

“Thus apart from huge loss of revenue to the Punjab government, there are also many types of legal hurdles in this process. In order to prevent this practice, it is proposed to impose a 2% stamp duty on the power of attorneys issued out of family relationship through the proposed amendment,” it said.