Punjab Province

The Lahore Development Authority’s (LDA) Town Planning Wing sealed 46 properties across several areas of the city over unauthorised commercial use and non-payment of commercialisation fees. The operation was conducted on the instructions of LDA Director General Tahir Farooq under the supervision of Chief Town Planner-I Asad Zaman in areas under the authority’s jurisdiction. LDA teams sealed 13 properties in Blocks A and B of New Muslim Town and 10 in New Garden Town over unauthorised commercial use. Another 13 properties were sealed along Defence Road, Multan Road and the stretch from Thokar Niaz Baig to Manga. In Mustafa Town, teams sealed 10 properties during an operation to recover outstanding dues. The sealed premises included banks, schools, restaurants, a shopping mall, showrooms, steelworks, marble and hardware stores, food outlets, an auto workshop, shops and offices. LDA Director General Tahir Farooq said enforcement action against unauthorised commercial buildings and defaulters of commercialisation fees would continue without discrimination.

The Lahore High Court has ruled that the partition of inherited property covered by the relevant statutory exception attracts a fixed stamp duty of Rs 500, rather than 2% of the property’s value. Justice Tanveer Ahmed Sheikh issued the five-page written judgment while allowing a writ petition filed by citizen Muhammad Sajjad. The court set aside decisions issued in 2025 by a civil judge and an additional sessions judge concerning the stamp duty payable. The court held that the lower courts had failed to explain the legal basis for imposing 2% stamp duty. It further observed that including other co-owners as parties to the proceedings did not alter the essential nature of the inherited property partition. A financial burden calculated as a percentage of the property’s value could not be imposed without legal authority. The ruling’s legal basis lies in a specific exception under Article 45 of Schedule I to the Stamp Act, 1899. According to the Punjab Board of Revenue, a fixed stamp duty of Rs 500 applies to an instrument partitioning urban or rural property, including agricultural land, where the partition arises wholly or partly from the opening of a succession. The provision establishes a separate legal treatment for partitions arising from inheritance. Section 2(15) of the same law defines an “instrument of partition.” In addition to a document through which co-owners divide property or agree to divide it, the definition includes a final order by a civil court or revenue authority implementing a partition, as well as an arbitral award directing one. The statutory definition therefore extends beyond a partition deed prepared by mutual agreement. The legal provision makes clear that the fixed duty of Rs 500 applies to the relevant instrument of partition arising from inheritance. It does not extend uniformly to every sale, gift or other transfer of property. The court’s ruling concerns the specific dispute over inherited property partition and the stamp duty payable on it.