Application for a Non-Encumbrance Certificate (Bojh Rahit Praman Patra)

Stamp duty

No stamp duty — not an instrument under section 2(14), Stamp Act, 1899. A manual application may need a Rs 1.25 court-fee label (weakly sourced; some computerised counters have stopped asking); online filing has none. The real cost is a departmental search fee: facilitation Rs 100 + application fee Rs 2 + Rs 20 for the current year + Rs 10 per earlier year — about Rs 242 for a 13-year search, Rs 412 for 30 years; the portal computes the exact figure. NOT payable here, despite confusion: the Rs 200 pasting fee (for registered documents), the Rs 600 mutation fee (paid at intkal attestation), or the Rs 20/page copying fee (for a fard copy). A separate proforma affidavit, if the counter wants one, goes on its own Rs 10/15 stamp paper — a different document from this application. Chandigarh has no per-year search fee scheme — pay the Sub-Registrar's own inspection/copying charge instead (get the figure in writing). For context, Chandigarh's actual conveyance duty is stated at 5% (contested — portals say 6%) plus 1% registration fee capped at Rs 10,000 and Rs 20 pasting.

Registration

Not registrable — this is an APPLICATION under section 57, Registration Act, 1908: you present it, you don't register it. Filed with the Sub-Registrar/Joint Sub-Registrar for the tehsil (not the Patwari, Circle Revenue Officer, or Deputy Commissioner) — via NECIS online, over the counter, or at a Sewa Kendra. If the tehsil was reorganised mid-period, a second application at the other office may be needed. It's a notified 3-day service (2 more if filed at a Sewa/Fard/Saanjh Kendra), running only from a complete, acknowledged application — keep the dated acknowledgment with its number. Appeal delay to the SDM, then the Deputy Commissioner. What comes back isn't a registered document either — just a certified statement of what Book No. 1 and the section 55 index show for that property and period. Chandigarh has no notified NEC service, but section 57 still lets anyone inspect Book No. 1 and the index at the Sub-Registrar (30 Bays Building) — ask what form, fee and time that counter gives; there's no 3-day clock. The searches that actually decide a Chandigarh title are Know Your Property/Dues, a No Dues Certificate (15 days) and, for leasehold, the transfer NOC (50 days).

Notarisation

Not required on the application itself — signed, not sworn. A SEPARATE proforma affidavit is commonly asked for (property identity, no undisclosed encumbrance) — its own stamp paper, notarised or Executive Magistrate-attested; ask the counter which proforma. Attestation also comes in for: a POA holder applying (an unregistered POA is usually notarised); a company/trust/bank applicant (its authority letter, typically notarised); or a chakbandi renumbering mismatch (a declaration linking old and new numbers).

Witnesses

None required — nobody is executing an instrument. Only the applicant(s) sign; a representative signs just the letter of authority, not the application. Don't confuse this with the two-witness rule on the sale/gift/mortgage deed that follows — a different document. The counter wants identity, not attestation: your ID proof and a working mobile number, since the acknowledgment arrives by SMS/OTP.