Noida: The deputy registrar (firms, societies and chits) has held that resident welfare associations and apartment owners’ associations cannot charge 0.5% of the circle rate as no-objection certificate (NOC) fees when flat owners add relatives’ names to property documents.In an order dated Nov 5, the office termed the demand “infructuous” and “illogical”. Such fees can typically cost a property owner Rs 1 lakh-3.5 lakh.Rajesh Sawhney, a resident of Silver Society in Sector 93, had taken up the matter before the deputy registrar, arguing that his AOA was charging 0.5% of the circle rate for an NOC to add his children’s names to the flat’s documents.“I want to settle my property during my lifetime for which I want to gift my two children 40% of the flat cost to each of my children. There are no monetary transactions with my children and yet I am asked to pay up for getting NOC, which is one of the documents required for getting names to add. Based on the size of the flat and the area where it is located in our society, we end up paying between Rs 42,000 and Rs 74,000,” Sawhney said.Under the Uttar Pradesh Apartment Act, 2010 and the UP Apartment Rules, 2011, an apartment can be transferred only through a registered deed. The seller must produce a “no dues certificate” from the AOA at the time of transfer and pay the association 0.5% of the transfer value. The association keeps the amount in a fund for major repairs to the building.Deputy registrar Nikhleesh Rajan, however, said the fee clause applies only to sales.“The said clause of the act is applicable when there is a sale in which monetary transaction is involved but in this particular case, there is no sale involved and is mere addition of names among the family members/blood relations,” Rajan said.“This is a policy issue which requires other stakeholders, like stamp and registration department and Noida Authority, to come up with their interpretation of the Act. So while I have termed AOA’s demand as ‘illogical’, I have also marked the copy of the order to the said departments and agencies so that a broader framework could be outlined in such cases,” he said.UP govt revised stamp duty on gift deeds on Aug 3, 2023, capping the stamp duty at a flat rate of Rs 5,000 (plus a Rs 1,000 processing fee) for immovable properties gifted among eligible family members. Earlier, the stamp duty was 5% in Noida and 7% elsewhere in the state.“Now add this to stamp duty because in case of property transfer via gift deeds, we are required to pay up Rs 5,000 if the transaction is completely among family members, non-financial and is based on mutual trust and love. I challenged this with the deputy registrar (firms, societies and chits) on the ground that it is violating UP Apartment Act, 2010,” Sawhney said.
