Application for Conversion from Leasehold to Freehold (Estate Office Annexure-1 and Annexure-2)

ਸਟਾਂਪ ਡਿਊਟੀ

PART A (the application) is a letter to a public officer — no stamp duty, not an instrument under the Stamp Act; plain paper. PART B (the affidavit) needs its own non-judicial stamp paper PER LESSEE (Article 4, Schedule I) — the office's own Annexure-11 affidavit is printed for a nominal Rs 15, but Rs 100 is what vendors sell and counters accept; buy that, since over-stamping is never a defect but under-stamping makes the paper inadmissible (s.35). Physical stamp paper for any value (treasury above Rs 50,000); a Rs 100 affidavit qualifies for e-Sampark's Rs 500 online cap. Stamp paper doesn't expire (Thiruvengada Pillai v. Navaneethammal, 2008) — the six-month rule is only for refunds. THE REAL BILL is the conveyance deed that completes conversion: Rule 9, 1996 Rules makes the conversion fee (plus surcharge) the 'consideration' for stamp purposes, at a stated 5% duty (TREAT AS UNSETTLED — portals widely say 6%) plus 1% registration fee (capped Rs 10,000) and Rs 20 pasting. Whether the Sub-Registrar actually values the deed at the conversion fee, or at the much higher collector rate, is the single biggest open money question here — confirm before committing. Rule 15 puts both charges on the transferee; no gender concession exists. No Punjab counterpart: Punjab leasehold runs through the jamabandi/mutation chain or a development authority, not an Estate Officer's file.

ਰਜਿਸਟਰੀ

Neither the application nor any PART B affidavit is registrable — section 17, Registration Act, 1908 reaches an instrument creating an interest in property; an application or affidavit does neither. Both are filed at the Estate Office, not the Sub-Registrar — and because they're physically separate papers on separate stamp sheets, each must independently describe the property. File with the Assistant Estate Officer: a 35-day service, running only from a COMPLETE application (every recorded lessee's affidavit included); appeal lies to the Estate Officer, then the Secretary Estate. WHAT IS registrable is the deed of conveyance that completes conversion — compulsorily, under section 17(1)(b), Registration Act, 1908. Conversion is two stages: a conversion letter on payment of charges, then the deed, executed and registered (Rule 9, 1996 Rules), at which point freehold title actually vests — until then you hold a conversion letter, not title (s.49 bars an unregistered deed from affecting the property or being used as evidence). Section 23 gives four months from execution to register, extendable four more (s.25) at up to 10x the fee. The deed is presented in triplicate (freehold), with photos affixed; registration fee 1% capped at Rs 10,000 plus Rs 20 pasting. Registration triggers auto-mutation digitally — no separate application — with Branch Clerk scrutiny due in 2 hours (leasehold+NOC) or 4 (freehold). This is exactly the stage the 10 February 2023 transfer freeze bites, if recorded lessees aren't all one family: a conversion whose deed can't be mutated hasn't finished. Anything executed abroad needs embossing by the Chandigarh Finance Department first.

ਨੋਟਰੀ

The Estate Office checklist specifically directs 'attested by the Executive Magistrate' for PART B — unlike the office's own POA affidavit (Annexure-11), which accepts a notary; treat that distinction as deliberate. If the counter gives an ambiguous answer, get it attested by an Executive Magistrate AND notarised — a spare morning beats losing your filing date. The deponent appears in person with original ID and signs before the officer (not at home); get the notarial register serial number if a notary attests. EVERY recorded lessee swears separately, each their own affidavit on their own Rs 100 stamp paper — they needn't attend the same day; file once the last one has sworn, since the clock runs from the complete set. A lessee abroad swears before an Indian consular officer, or notarises locally and apostilles, then that document must additionally be embossed by the Chandigarh Finance Department before use. Attestation doesn't make the sworn facts true or clear the property — run Know Your Dues/Know Your Property and walk the building against the sanctioned plan yourself before anyone signs.

ਗਵਾਹ

PART A needs no witnesses. Each PART B affidavit (one per lessee) carries its own two witnesses — may be the same two people each time — even though an affidavit's force comes from the oath, not attestation; harmless if the office's own format skips a witness block. Each witness gives full name, parentage, address and mobile, and must not be an applicant, a buyer under the coming conveyance, or the attesting officer; they witness only the signature, not the sworn facts, and take no liability. Where witnesses truly matter is the later deed of conveyance: it needs two witnesses at registration, and the FIRST must qualify under paragraph 127 of the Punjab Registration Manual — a Lambardar, Sarpanch or Panch in a rural area, or a councillor, gazetted officer or advocate — known to the Sub-Registrar, with both witnesses known to each other. Line up a qualifying witness before the appointment; the presentation window closes at 1pm. Where a deponent can't write, take a thumb impression with an endorsement that the contents were read over and understood first.