Pune: The state govt has made prior scrutiny by senior registration officials mandatory for property documents presented for registration outside the taluka where the property is located. Officials will get two days to review these documents for stamp duty evasion, undervaluation, and legal encumbrances, a revenue department circular issued on Oct 12 said.The move is aimed at curbing irregularities under the state’s ‘one district one registration’ scheme, which allows documents to be registered across a district rather than only in the jurisdiction where the property is located, state registration officials told TOI.“Under the new procedure, when a joint sub-registrar receives a document relating to a property outside the taluka, the office must attach the applicant’s request for permission to register it. The joint sub-registrar must scrutinise the document and forward it, along with an opinion on whether it is fit for registration, to the concerned joint district registrar within two days,” the circular stated.Officials said that while the scheme has been operating well, these checks are important.“The joint district registrar must examine the proposal under the Registration Act, Stamp Act, and related rules, and grant permission within the next two days if the document meets the requirements. However, the final decision will remain with the sub-registrar, who must independently verify the document at the time of registration,” senior state registration officials said.Officials said the scrutiny must establish whether the property’s market value has been assessed as prescribed and whether the correct stamp duty and registration fees have been charged. Officials must also examine why the parties chose to register the document in a different revenue taluka instead of the taluka where the property is situated. “They must additionally check whether the property is affected by a govt project, development-plan reservation, road-widening proposal, land acquisition, forest or restricted-area status, or any other govt or legal encumbrance,” added officials.The notice, however, adds that the procedure will not apply to agreements and sale deeds involving projects registered under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act for properties outside the taluka. It is also not required for registered documents that do not involve a change in ownership.The revenue department has also called for introduction of monthly monitoring. Joint district registrars must compile details of out-of-taluka property documents registered at subordinate offices and submit them to the Inspector General of Registration’s office, through the respective deputy inspector general of registration, by the fifth of the following month. The inspector general of registration and controller of stamps will forward the information to the state govt.The statewide one district one registration programme was implemented through a notification dated April 30, 2025. The latest instructions follow a Sept 22 meeting chaired by revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule to address irregularities arising from the expanded registration jurisdiction.Departments to work on measurement mechanismProperty buyers may soon be able to get land or buildings measured before registering a sale, with the state govt directing the land records and registration departments to work out a mechanism for a pre-purchase survey. A circular issued on Oct 9 has asked the settlement commissioner and director of land records and the inspector general of registration and controller of stamps, both based in Pune, to work together.The minister has directed the departments to provide three facilities: applications for measuring land or buildings within 15 days of the proposed registration, same-day measurement in urgent cases, and printing of the measurement details, known as the ‘K’ copy (Form K), on the registered document. A pre-purchase survey could help buyers verify the area and boundaries of a property before completing a transaction, potentially reducing disputes over measurements after registration.
