Auto-Mutation Affidavit-cum-Indemnity Bond (Annexure-I), with Architect's Certificate of Completion and Habitability (Annexure-II)

ਸਟਾਂਪ ਡਿਊਟੀ

Two instruments on one sheet: the affidavit is chargeable under Article 4, the indemnity bond under Article 34 (routing to Article 57), Schedule I, Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (Chandigarh) — section 6 charges the higher of the two, not both. Chandigarh's published rate table has no line for either, so get the current stamp-paper value at the Sub-Registrar's counter or the Estate Office before buying; pay the full figure rather than a nominal 'section 4' amount, since an unstamped instrument is inadmissible (s.35) and only curable later with up to 10x penalty. Physical paper for any value (treasury route above Rs 50,000); e-Sampark online stamping is capped at Rs 500. The deed itself: stamp duty is stated at 5% of value/consideration (TREAT AS UNSETTLED — portals widely say 6%, and no resolving notification was found; confirm with the Sub-Registrar), registration fee 1% capped at Rs 10,000 plus Rs 20 pasting. Blood-relation transfers are duty-exempt (fee still applies); family settlement 2%; exchange 3%; agreement to sell 5% of token money; GPA with power of sale 3% (plain GPA Rs 75/150, SPA Rs 15); will nil duty. Duty is on the higher of consideration or the collector rate, revised significantly across Chandigarh's sectors from 1 April 2026 — confirm the current figure. No gender-based concession exists in Chandigarh, despite what portals claim. No Punjab counterpart: intkal there runs on a flat Rs 600 mutation fee, nothing filed at a Sub-Registrar.

ਰਜਿਸਟਰੀ

Not compulsorily registrable: a sworn statement plus a personal covenant creates no interest in property, so section 17(1)(b), Registration Act, 1908 isn't attracted — but only so long as Clause 12.5 (no charge/mortgage created) holds; add a security charge and it becomes registrable within four months (s.23), void against the property if not (s.49). Filed anyway, alongside the deed, at the Sub-Registrar (triplicate for a freehold sale/gift/exchange, duplicate otherwise, photos affixed). The deed itself IS compulsorily registrable, under section 17(1)(b), Registration Act, 1908 read with section 54, Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — within four months of execution (s.23), extendable four more months on a fine up to 10x the fee (s.25); after eight months, not at all; an unregistered deed doesn't affect the property or evidence the transaction (s.49). Once registered, auto-mutation triggers digitally — no application needed — with Branch Clerk scrutiny due within 2 hours (leasehold with valid NOC) or 4 hours (freehold); change of ownership is a 30-day notified service, running only from a complete file. A leasehold deed additionally needs, before it can even register: the Estate Office NOC (50-day service), the 15-year transfer bar (Rule 7(i)) expired, one-third unearned increase paid (Rule 7(ii)), a current No Dues Certificate, and ground rent paid up (arrears recoverable as land revenue, s.8). A Chandigarh Housing Board unit needs its own 5-year lock-in expired and a joint application under Regulation 16. No separate registration fee on this annexure — only on the deed. No Punjab counterpart: intkal there isn't filed with a Sub-Registrar.

ਨੋਟਰੀ

The affidavit must be sworn — before a Notary, an Oath Commissioner, or an Executive Magistrate (Estate Office now accepts a notarised affidavit in place of an Executive-Magistrate one). Get the notarial register entry number on the endorsement. Every deponent appears IN PERSON — one joint buyer can't swear on another's behalf, and a single endorsement for two deponents reads as one appearance for two oaths, a common defect. If a deponent is abroad: swear before an Indian mission, or notarise locally and apostille — then it must additionally be embossed by the Chandigarh Finance Department before use. An attorney needs a registered, subsisting power of attorney (not merely notarised) — GPA with power of sale 3% duty, plain GPA Rs 75/150, special POA Rs 15; one executed abroad must be stamped in India within three months of receipt (s.18, Stamp Act). It doesn't register the document, cure a stamp shortfall, or settle the indemnity — but a false statement on oath is an offence, and where used in a proceeding, false evidence under sections 227/229, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (replacing IPC ss.191/193); the section for the oath limb outside a proceeding is unresolved, left unnumbered pending counsel's confirmation. Annexure-II (the architect's certificate) is never notarised as an affidavit — it stands on the architect's own signature, seal and Council of Architecture registration number.

ਗਵਾਹ

No statutory attesting witnesses for the affidavit/indemnity bond — the two-witness rule applies only to a mortgage without title-deed deposit (s.59, TPA), a gift (s.123, TPA) or a will (s.63, Succession Act). Two are used anyway in practice, since the bond is enforced years later: pick traceable adults who aren't parties, close relatives, brokers or beneficiaries. The DEED's witnesses, filed at the same counter, follow a stricter rule: the first must belong to a specified class (a councillor, gazetted officer or advocate, or in a rural area a Lambardar/Sarpanch/Panch), known to the Sub-Registrar, both known to each other — a deed with ordinary friends as witnesses is turned back, and this affidavit is returned with it. Every joint deponent signs personally — a bond signed by only one of two joint buyers binds only that one. A thumb impression must be attested and read over. Annexure-II carries no witnesses — it's authenticated by the architect's own signature, seal and registration number.