E-Paper
Property matters: Chandigarh slashes unearned profit to one-fourth
The unearned profit is the difference between the price paid by the original allottee and the market value at the time of permission of transfer
Buying and selling property in the city will get cheaper now with the UT administration reducing the burden of unearned profit from one-third to one-fourth.
The administration on Thursday notified the Chandigarh Estate (Amendment) Rules 2022, paving the way for the reduction, a long-standing demand of city residents.
Lakhs of property owners stand to benefit from the administration’s move. The decision will make properties cheaper for the buyers and reduce financial burden on the sellers also.
The unearned increase is the difference between the price paid by the original allottee and the market value at the time of permission of transfer. It is paid before registry of such sale or transfer.
The amendments came in the wake of recommendations made by the 11-member committee on property matters, headed by Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher.
The panel was constituted by the UT administrator on October 5, 2021, in compliance with a Supreme Court order, dated September 7, 2021, in the Estate Officer vs Charanjit Kaur and Others case.
The apex court had ordered the formation of the committee to streamline the process for sanction of mutation, grant of occupancy and no-objection certificates, and other citizen-centric requirements.
The committee’s second and final meeting was held on November 1, 2021, following which the final minutes of the meeting were prepared this week and will soon be submitted before apex court for approval.
The committee had recommended, unearned value to be reduced from the existing 33.33% (1/3rd) to 25% or 20% (1/4th or 1/5th). Alternatively, it had suggested, the existing rate of interest – 9% per annum – for updating the original premium should be increased to 12% per annum. But the administration has kept it at 9%.
Thereon, UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit had chaired a high-level meeting of UT officials on March 2 and set deadlines for the implementation of recommendations by the committee.
“We welcome the move, but as the unearned increase is still very high, we urge the administration to come out with a policy to convert leasehold property to freehold, with reasonable charges, as there is no unearned profit applicable on transfer of freehold properties,” said Charanjiv Singh, president, Chandigarh Beopar Mandal.
