Revenue department issues order, flat owners can now pay land tax & get receipt
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a landmark move, the revenue department has decided to issue land tax receipts to flat owners. The decision comes after the government decided to bring in a unified system for mutation and receipt of land tax for flats from individual owners.
Until now, when a part of the land is handed over to the buyer, and if the land is not divided individually, the landowner would pay the tax as undivided share. However, flat owners face an issue when they approach banks or other financial institutions for loans.
The lenders ask for a land tax receipt and the flat owners find that their names are not included in the land tax receipt. In undivided share, only the name of the landowner is mentioned as the land is not divided individually.
With several complaints in that regard coming to the notice of the revenue department, Revenue Minister K Rajan convened a meeting of officials from the revenue, survey, and law departments. In an order issued subsequently, the revenue department has instructed that where the land tax is being paid in the name of the landowner, the transfer of flat ownership be permitted only if land ownership is also duly transferred.
The officials must ensure whether the land transfer has actually been done by examining the title deed. In these cases, the mutation must be done in the name of the flat owner. For example, if individual ‘A’ and individual ‘B’ buy flats under the thandaper ‘100’, ‘A’ should be given the thandaper number 100/1 and ‘B’ thandaper number 100/2.
The survey numbers included in the original thandaper (revenue record of property) must be included in the sub-thandaper too. When creating new sub-thandapers, the land area should also be deducted from the original thandaper, the revenue department order said.