Govt. should immediately withdraw unprecedented fee hike on stamp duty: Harpal Cheema

Chandigarh, April 1

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has taken a serious note of the unprecedented hike in registration fee (Stamp duty) which has added an additional financial burden on the people, who were overburdened with a host of other tax liabilities.

In a statement issued from party headquarters in Chandigarh here on Monday, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Punjab Vidhan Harpal Singh Cheema Cheema, has demanded that the state government should review the decision and order immediately roll back the hiked registration fee on adoption, power of attorney and to procuring old legal documentation/papers etc.

Slamming the Captain Amarinder Singh government, Cheema said that the government had already taken a decision to hike the stamp duty in the month of February, which was to be implemented from the month of April.

However, the decision was withheld on March 14 through a notification. The proposed hike in the registration charges was unprecedented, which, he said, was not only an additional burden on the people but was also a clear case of violation of the Model Code of Conduct which was already in force.

Elaborating further on the issue AAP leader said that for all legal documentation, like transfer of landed property, for power of attorney, withdrawal of will or even on adoption one would be required to pay Rs 4000. He said, to add sail to injuries, to obtain old documentation would cost the bearer would have to pay between Rs 25 and Rs 40 more per page while one would have to pay Rs 200 and Rs 400 more on postal and lease fee.

Cheema said that the government should immediately review decision and roll back on the hiked charges on stamp duty people would have to through nose, stating they were already overstressed with a host of other tax liabilities.