The cash-strapped Punjab Government’s bid to earn Rs 200 crore from the registration of properties in cooperative housing societies, made mandatory retrospectively through a notification, has not gone down well with owners of such properties. The Government is now mulling over reviewing its decision and making the registration mandatory only for prospective buyers.
The Government, in a notification dated November 21, 2025, made it mandatory for the owners of all apartments in cooperative housing societies to get their units registered by paying stamp and collector’s duties retrospectively. The order affected about 50,000 apartment owners in about 600 cooperative housing societies.
In the wake of criticism, including in the form of a challenge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the notification, the Government is “forced to make an amendment,” a highly placed source told The Indian Express.
“The file regarding the review of the decision is before Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. It is just a matter of his signature now. As soon as he clears the file, the notification will be amended, and the Government will make the registration mandatory only for new/prospective buyers. Those who have already paid the transfer fee to these societies will not have to go for the registration,” the government source said.
While making the registration mandatory, the notification stated that the properties should be compulsorily registrable under clauses (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of Section 17 of the Registration Act 1908. Registration should be carried out at the “prevailing collector rate” of the property and at the stamp duty determined by the revenue department, together with the applicable registration fee. Registration should be completed within 90 days of the transfer of membership or possession, whichever is earlier. Failure to register within the above period will attract a penalty of 0.5 per cent per month on the applicable stamp duty or registration fee arrears, subject to a maximum of 100 per cent of such dues.
The notifications were issued under the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act 1961, making it mandatory for all property transfers in housing cooperative societies to be registered under the Registration Act 1908. The Government has provided a 120-day amnesty window for existing holders, offering a 50 per cent rebate on stamp duty if registered by March 20, 2026.
‘Like a small-time shopkeeper’
On January 12, the Government issued another notification giving concessions on stamp duty rates for non-original allottees. While the original allottees were exempted from paying stamp duty, they were liable to pay a registration fee of only 1 per cent with a maximum limit of Rs 2 lakh. The non-original allottees had to pay a stamp duty of only 1 per cent if registration was done before January 31, 2026, 2 per cent if registration was done between February 1 and February 28. The allottees were given another window to pay 3 per cent stamp duty if they chose to pay between March 1 and 31. After March 31, they had to pay normal rates of 6 per cent stamp duty.
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“This order, giving the maximum rate on stamp duty up to January 31, with a window of just a fortnight, caused high anxiety among those who wanted to wait for the high court order on the issue. The legality of notifications is not clear yet. It has been a tough decision for most people. Many bought stamp papers but did not get them registered. It was felt as if the Government was having the same approach as a small-time shopkeeper, trying to sell off his product at discounted prices,” a house owner said.
The Government is trying to mop up resources in the last year of its tenure. It has been trying to generate resources to pay Rs 1,000 per month to women.
Petition by IAS/PCS Cooperative House Building Society
On January 12, Sahil Sekhri and other members of the Punjab IAS/PCS Cooperative House Building Society Limited moved the high court, challenging the constitutional validity and legality of notifications No. S.O. 311 and S.O. 312, issued by the cooperation department.
The society owns approximately 70 acres of land acquired over two decades ago after paying full stamp duty and registration charges as per the then-prevailing rates. Housing plots were allotted to its members through a legally recognised mechanism of share transfer under the society’s bye-law 7A, a system validly accepted by the state for more than 60 years and protected by statutory exemptions under sections 37 and 38 of the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act 1961.
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In 2025, the legislature enacted the Punjab Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act 2025, empowering the state to withdraw exemptions relating to registration and stamp duty. Crucially, the amendment Act operates prospectively and contains no provision for retrospective application. Despite this, the state issued impugned notifications mandating the compulsory registration of conveyance deeds even for past transfers, imposing penalties for delay, and requiring payment of stamp duty and registration fees at the 2025 collector rates for transactions that occurred years earlier and were legally exempt at the time.
‘Arbitrary and confiscatory levying of stamp duty’
The petitioners contended that these notifications were manifestly arbitrary, ultra vires the parent Act, and amount to unauthorised retrospective operation through subordinate legislation. They said the notification aggravated the illegality by levying stamp duty on current market rates, thereby taxing appreciation accrued over several years, which the petitioners argue is confiscatory and violative of Article 300A of the Constitution.
Their petition said the notifications conflict with the Registration Act 1908, a central statute, thereby creating repugnancy under Article 254 of the Constitution. They impose conditions not contemplated under the Registration Act and seek to register past rights, which was impermissible. The notifications were also assailed for violating the doctrine of mutuality by subjecting cooperative members to double taxation on land for which stamp duty had already been paid by the society.
The petition prayed for the quashing of the impugned notifications, prohibition of coercive recovery of stamp duty and penalties, exemption of original allottees from additional registration fees, and an interim stay on the operation of the notifications pending final adjudication.
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The high court stated, “At the outset, the learned counsel seeks a short adjournment to get appropriate instructions as to whether the notification is to operate prospectively to mean that any selling of the share along with property will invite registration or the earlier transfer of the share will also invite registration so as to further selling of the property in question in view the notification especially when amendment is prospective in nature.”
Finance Minister Harpal Cheema was not available for comment.
A government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, defended the notifications. “The move was intended to protect the society members and improve revenue integrity through applicable stamp duty and registration fees. A large number of cooperative society members—particularly in housing cooperatives—continue to suffer from the absence of proper legal title due to non-registration of property instruments. This has led to prolonged litigation, fraudulent transfers, and denial of mutation or property rights. Mandating formal registration will provide legal clarity, secure property ownership, and reduce disputes,” the official said.
“The withdrawal of blanket exemptions for certain classes of societies will also help close regulatory loopholes, align documentation with property law requirements, and improve revenue integrity through applicable stamp duty and registration fees, while augmenting state revenues,” he added.
