DEEMED CONVEYANCE DRIVE BY MAHARASHTRA GOVT : What use is it?

 *DEEMED CONVEYANCE DRIVE BY MAHARASHTRA GOVT : What use is it?*

• Government of Maharashtra have issued notification for a special drive to issue Deemed Conveyance deed upto 15th January, 2021.

The same has now been extended upto January 31,2021.

• *According to me, this drive is just an eyewash.*

• *A similar drive was held in 2012-13 in which our NGO had whole heartedly participated but all our efforts, time and money went waste because of the deeply embedded corruption in our system.*

• The entire process of Deemed Conveyance takes atleast a year. No one knows how the Government will be giving it in a drive of 15 days.

• Deemed conveyance is transfer of ownership of land on which building is constructed and society was formed by the flat owners on that land, where promoter (builder) fails to execute conveyance deed in favour of society within prescribed period, which is four months from the formation of the society.

• Society office bearers are making a bee line for getting the Deemed Conveyance deed. For them it’s a safe any comfortable route to convince their members that they are performing and doing hard work in society interest.

• No society is going to fight against the builder  by resorting to the MOFA Act.

• Actually, every office bearer of society should go through the MOFA Act carefully, which has made non-execution of deed of conveyance by the builder within four months as stringent offence punishable with three years imprisonment.

• Maharashtra  Ownership Flats ( Regulation of the Promotion of Construction, Sale, management and Transfer ) Act – 1963

Section 10(2): “It should be the duty of the promoter to file with the competent authority, within the prescribed, a copy of the conveyance executed by him”

• Section 13(1) of Act reads as under:

“Any promoter who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with or contravenes, the provision of sections 3,4, 5 (save as provided in sub-section (2) of this section) 10 or 11 shall, on conviction be punished, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both.”

• This drive to go for deemed conveyance - had it been only for creating awareness then it was good.

• However, nothing has been specified by the State Government as regards how they want to go about it.

• In lack of proper clarity on the issue, blindly going for Deemed Conveyance is a no less then cheating the members of a CHS, as it involves payment of huge "speed money" generally in lakhs of rupees.  

• The Government fee levied on deemed conveyance  is merely just Rs.2000/- only but a huge amount is collected from members of  Housing Societies - ostensibly as "speed money" but in reality a bribe - to be given to advocates, middle men, brokers, service providers and lastly to corrupt officials of the 4 departments involved. And this is  not a hidden fact. 

• Deemed conveyance is nothing but a nexus of the chain to loot gullible people.

• CHS Members are advised to put pressure on their office bearers to lodge police complaint under MOFA Act against the builders/land owners for non execution of Conveyance Deed in favour of Housing Societies.

• Pursue it and you will see the results: builders will be on your door steps to handover the Conveyance Deeds.

√ Lastly the Government should be taking out a drive to mobilise Societies to file FIR against such builders!

√ Deemed Conveyance can then be favoured only in cases where builder firms are dissolved and/or the owner of land is not traceable.

√ The Govt should adopt a policy of giving Deemed Conveyance to all Societies above 15 years of age.

That will help reduce corruption.

REGISTRATION OF DEEMED CONVEYANCE

On receipt of the Deemed Conveyance Order, the Deemed Conveyance between the Competent Authority & the Society is prepared. The Competent Authority appears in the Deed on behalf of the defaulting Land Owners & Property Developers.

The Deemed Conveyance is submitted to the Office of Competent Authority for Approval & their Signature with Authority Stamp & Seal.

The Special General Body of the Society is called to approve the Deemed Conveyance & to nominate 3 Members of the Society to sign the instruments.

The Deemed Conveyance is executed by the signature of the Competent Authority & the signatures of the 3 nominated Members of the Society.

On execution of the Deemed Conveyance, it is forwarded to the District Stamp Office for Adjudication. If all the Members of the Society have paid the Stamp Duty on their respective Flat/ Shop Agreements & there is no balance FSI, the Deemed Conveyance attracts only Rs. 100/- Stamp Duty. The Stamp Office issues the Adjudication Certificate.

On receipt of the Adjudication Certificate, the Society pays the required Stamp Duty & gets the Deemed Conveyance Franked from local Bank.

After Franking of the Deemed Conveyance, the same is submitted to the Registration Office for Registration. The Registration Office issues a notice to the Land Owners & Property Developers to verify whether they have received any Stay Order from Proper Court against the Deemed Conveyance Order.

The Proper Court for issuing the Stay Order against the Deemed Conveyance Order is High Court. It is very difficult for the Land Owners & Property Developers to obtain the Stay Order from High Court against the Deemed Conveyance Order.

If there is no Stay Order received, the Registration Office Registers the Deemed Conveyance. The Competent Authority is exempted from appearing for the Registration & hence the 3 Members nominated by the Society only appear for Registration.

After Registration of the Deemed Conveyance, the Registration Office issues the Scanned Document & Index II typically within 15 days.

The complete Procedure of Registration of Deemed Conveyance is typically completed within 3- 4 Months. On receipt of the Index II, the Registration Process of the Deemed Conveyance is successfully completed & the Society becomes the owner of the Land & Structure.

@ Dayanand Nene