E-stamping put on hold
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The total migration to e-stamping has been put on hold in the state after its implementation in haste resulted in confusion at sub-registrar offices. An order by the Taxes Secretary had made e-stamping, the digital form of creating stamp papers, mandatory in the state from February 1. But the government did not make provision for the vendors or the public to generate e-stamp below the denomination of `1 lakh from the Treasuries Department portal.
On the first day of implementation, many sub-registrars denied property registration using stamp papers which were purchased on February 1. They cited that the government order has made conventional stamp papers sold after January 31, 2021, invalid. Later the office of the Inspector General of Registration issued a telephonic message to sub-registrar offices to allow registration using conventional stamp papers purchased on February 1 as well.
On February 2, the Registration IG issued an order limiting e-stamping of denominations less than `1 lakh to two sub-registrar offices on an experimental basis. The selected offices were the sub-registrar office at Kazhakoottam in Thiruvananthapuram and Kottarakkara principal sub-registrar office in Kollam.
For the past three years e-stamping is mandatory in the state for stamp papers worth `1 lakh and above.
The now-postponed total migration was without any preparations, sources in the IGR’s office said.
The stamp vendors were not trained or given a provision to generate e-stamp.“Also, the Treasuries Department portal and server are ill-equipped to handle the rush when total migration is in place. Even now, the portal runs into problems when 10 or more people log into it for downloading the e-stamp for over `1 lakh,” said a senior officer who did not want to be named.