Chief Minister Rekha Gupta Tightens Delhi GPA Property Registration Rules

On Wednesday, the Delhi government announced a tightening of scrutiny on property registrations executed through General Power of Attorney (GPA) across Delhi. This administrative crackdown is aimed at curbing widespread stamp duty evasion, land fraud, and the resulting revenue loss from these transactions.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta directed sub-registrars to thoroughly examine whether GPAs involve any sale consideration, the transfer of property possession, or the conferring of ownership rights. This directive comes amid reports that in several cases, documents are being registered as GPAs by paying only a nominal stamp duty, despite effectively providing for the sale of properties, the handing over of possession, and the transfer of ownership.

The Delhi government stated that such practices amount to stamp duty evasion through the misuse of legal instruments. The government warned that this practice will no longer be tolerated under the new regulatory framework.

As part of the new directions issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), any GPA executed in favor of individuals other than close blood relatives of the property owner must now be mandatorily referred to the collector of stamps. Once referred, the collector of stamps is required to determine within 30 days whether the document attracts the full stamp duty that would normally apply to a conveyance deed, which is also known as a sale deed.

The Delhi government has also issued a strong warning of strict disciplinary action against any sub-registrars who are found violating these new norms in the future.

To ensure strict compliance with these directions, the government announced that an online monitoring system will be rolled out within a month. This new online system will be used to monitor all such referrals to the collector of stamps, tracking the process to ensure that the guidelines are being followed properly by officials.