TNR News Network
Shimla: Already reeling under inflation, the residents of Himachal Pradesh will now have to shell out significantly more for essential revenue-related documents.
The state government has issued a new notification announcing a hike in charges for a range of services, including land transfer, gift deeds and various certificates such as bonafide, OBC and ST.
Sharp hike in document fee at Lokmitra Kendra
Citizens seeking copies of land records like nishan dasti, jamabandi and masabi will now have to pay double the earlier fees. The per-page fee for jamabandi has been increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20 at Lokmitra Kendras. Similarly, masabi records will now cost Rs 20 instead of Rs 10. Digital land record copies accessed online will now cost Rs 15 including GST, up from Rs 10.
Certificates such as bonafide, OBC and ST — all commonly required documents — will now incur a fee of Rs 24 inclusive of GST, compared to the earlier Rs 15. The revisions apply across all Lokmitra Kendras and online platforms in the state.
Land registry, gift deeds now more expensive too
The cost of registering documents under different categories has also gone up considerably. For documents registered under Book-1, which include land sales, transfers and family arrangements, the new fee is Rs 590, up from Rs 400.
Documents under Book-3 (wills) and Book-4 (general power of attorney, GPA) will now require a payment of Rs 354, compared to the previous Rs 150.
This nearly twofold hike in registry-related service charges has raised concerns among citizens and property holders who often rely on these services for legal transactions and ownership transfers.
Revenue distribution, service charge allocation revised
The government has also amended the distribution of service fees. According to the notification issued by the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue), 10% of the collected fees will now go to the Directorate of Land Records, while the remaining 90% will stay with the Deputy Commissioner’s e-Governance Committee. Earlier, 100% of the amount was retained by the e-Governance Committee.
Officials said the fee hike marked the first significant revision in several years, resulting in an estimated 15-20% overall increase in the cost of revenue services.
