Gift deed in Punjab and Chandigarh: stamp duty, registration and family relief
A gift of immovable property works only if it is written, registered, witnessed by two people and accepted by the person receiving it while the giver is alive and able to give; an unregistered gift deed transfers nothing, and notarising it does not fix that.
In Punjab stamp duty is remitted on a gift to a child, grandchild, brother or sister, but the infrastructure levies and registration fee still apply and the 1% cess is not settled, so the total is an “Ask us”; in Chandigarh, whether a family gift is nil-rated or charged at 5% is an “Ask us” too.
Present the deed to the Sub-Registrar within four months of signing, then follow it with the mutation, because registration alone does not update the land record in Punjab.
Checked on against the Punjab Revenue Department’s published fee table, the Punjab family-transfer order, and the Chandigarh Administration’s published table of stamp duty and registration fees, as our gift deed page states them. The Punjab table carries no date or notification number and the Chandigarh table, created on 17 May 2020, carries no notification number, so confirm each figure at the Sub-Registrar’s counter before you buy stamp. Guide updated .
What is a gift deed, and what makes a gift valid?
An owner uses a gift deed to give a flat, house, plot, shop or land to someone else, almost always a close relative, for no money and while the owner is alive. Our free gift deed is for that: a father to a son or daughter, a grandfather to a grandchild, a brother to a sister.
- It must be written and registered: an unregistered gift passes no title and cannot even be used as evidence that a gift was made.
- Two attesting witnesses are compulsory by law.
- The receiver must accept while the giver is alive and able to give. A deed signed by an ailing giver and kept in a drawer for the receiver to sign later is worthless.
If the property should pass only after death, see our will guide.
What is the stamp duty on a gift deed in Punjab?
Punjab’s family relief is an order of 7 May 2014, which remits stamp duty in whole on a lifetime transfer to a child, grandchild, brother or sister. A parent or a spouse is not covered and pays the full rate.
Take the order number with you: the department’s fee table has no blood-relation line, so the counter clerk may not know the exemption. Punjab’s lower rate for a woman buyer is for a conveyance only, so it does not reach a gift. The registration fee is 1% of the value, minimum Rs 50, maximum Rs 2,00,000, plus a Rs 200 pasting fee. See our Punjab stamp duty guide.
What is the stamp duty on a gift deed in Chandigarh?
The registration fee is 1% of the value, maximum Rs 10,000 (confirm the cap), plus a Rs 20 pasting fee, and it is payable even when duty is exempt. The 5% at item 2 is itself contested, as portals say 6%. On a leasehold or concessionally allotted site, get the Estate Officer’s permission before you sign, or the Sub-Registrar may decline the deed. See our Chandigarh stamp duty guide.
What about a gift between husband and wife?
Neither place’s family relief reaches a spouse, so use the gift deed between spouses and budget for the full rate. In Punjab that is 7.25%. In Chandigarh item 24 does not reach a spouse, but the 5% itself is contested, so it is an “Ask us”.
How is a gift deed registered?
Registration is compulsory, without exception. Present the deed within four months of signing; the Registrar may accept it within a further four months on a fine of up to ten times the registration fee. Giver and receiver both attend in person, with photographs, PAN and Aadhaar.
- Punjab: the Sub-Registrar of the tehsil where the property lies. Book the slot, get the property valued and pay the fee on Easy Registry first. A gift deed is not on the list of notified one-day services, so ask the counter how long it will take.
- Chandigarh: the Sub-Registrar, UT Chandigarh, 30 Bays Building, Sector 17. Documents are presented between 12.00 noon and 1.00 pm and registered between 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm, in triplicate.
Who can be a witness, and what about a minor?
- A witness must not be a party: never let the receiver, or a guardian accepting for a minor, attest.
- In Chandigarh the first witness must be a Lambardar, Sarpanch or Member Panchayat for a rural property, or a councillor, a gazetted officer or an advocate. In Punjab, confirm with the tehsil office whom it accepts.
- A minor’s natural guardian accepts the gift for them, for that purpose alone.
What happens after registration?
Registering does not by itself update the land record. In Punjab the jamabandi still shows the giver until the mutation (intkal) is sanctioned; the receiver pays the Rs 600 fee, should report within three months, and can plan on 45 days. A Chandigarh sector site is mutated automatically from the registered deed, so the receiver’s affidavit-cum-indemnity bond must be at the counter at registration.
What mistakes do people make with a gift deed?
- Treating a family gift as duty-free in both places: Punjab’s relief names four relationships, and Chandigarh’s position is unsettled.
- Notarising the deed and not registering it.
- Assuming registration updates the land record.
Questions people ask
Is a gift from a father to a son free of stamp duty in Punjab?
Stamp duty is remitted in full on a gift to a child, grandchild, brother or sister under a 2014 government order. But the registration fee, the mutation fee and two infrastructure levies still apply, and it is not settled whether the 1% cess is also remitted, so we treat the total as an “Ask us”: confirm it with the Sub-Registrar.
Is a gift deed between family members free of stamp duty in Chandigarh?
We cannot say, so it is an “Ask us”. The published table has two lines that could each apply: item 2 charges a gift at 5%, and item 24 exempts a transfer deed between blood relations. Nothing we have traced says which one a family gift falls under, so settle it at the Sub-Registrar before you sign.
Does a gift deed have to be registered?
Yes, without exception. An unregistered gift of immovable property passes no title and cannot even be used as evidence that a gift was made, and notarising it does not fix that. Present it within four months of signing.
Can I gift the property but keep living in it myself?
Yes, if the deed says so explicitly: it lets the giver reserve a right to keep living in the property, or to keep receiving its rent and income, for the rest of their life. Reserving everything at once risks the transfer being challenged as not a genuine, completed gift.
Is there a stamp duty discount for a gift to my spouse?
No. Punjab’s family relief names only children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, and Chandigarh’s blood-relation exemption does not reach a spouse either, so expect the ordinary full rate in whichever place the property sits.
This guide explains the rules as our document pages state them. It is not legal advice about your own situation; for that, speak to somebody who has heard your facts.