Mysore civic body levies fees on property transfer
BS Reporter / Chennai/ Mysore Jun 18, 2010, 00:53 IST
In a drive to mobilise resources, the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) has introduced a 2 per cent fee on the transfer of immovable property coming under its jurisdiction from April 4.
The fee has been imposed under Section 140 of the Karnataka Corporation Act of 1976.
The fee on the sale deed (khata) amount will be charged at the time of registration of the property, a release issued by the MCC commissioner said.
Transfer of property bequeathed, gifted or acquired after legal battle will be charged fees on a square feet basis, which will range from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 depending on the square feet area.
A fine of Rs 100 will be imposed on the delayed khatha transfer.
The levy on the property value while changing khatha has however come in for opposition from a city-based NGO which has described it as a violation of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act of 1976.
Advocate and ‘Jaagruthi’ Convenor S Arun Kumar said in a statement today, “Though the provisions of law do not stipulate any slab as mentioned in the circular by the MCC, it has taken steps which amount to a violation of the provisions of law under the Act.”
The MCC has stated that the transfer of khathas of gift and inherited properties have to be sorted out before the court and the MCC would levy charges as follows: Up to 600 sq ft - Rs 500; 601 to 1,200 sq ft - Rs 1,000; 1,201 to 2,400 sq ft - Rs 2,000; 2,401 to 5,000 sq ft - Rs 5,000 and 5,001 and onwards Rs 10,000.
The provisions of the Stamp Act 1957 stipulate only Rs 1,140 as stamp duty and Rs 500 as regis-tration fee for the gift deed if it is within the family.
But the action of the MCC of charging a fee of 2 per cent of the property value for khatha change is a gross violation of law, alleged Arun Kumar.
There is a distinction between ?fee' and ?tax'. The former is to recover the expenditure incurred by the Department, registering documents, etc. Though the amount of fee can be calculated with reference to the value of the document, or any other criterion, the aggregate amount of fees collected in a year can exceed marginally, but not substantially, the total amount of expenditure incurred by that Department for that year. By contrast, tax is for administering the entire government machinery and therefore the rate of tax (stamp duty, etc.) can be increased, or decreased, at the will of the political party in power. Therefore, for mobilising resources, the introduction of a 2 per cent fee on the transfer of immovable property coming under its jurisdiction from April 4, by the Mysore City Corporation (MCC)appears to be incorrect.
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