Although the government has made it mandatory to obtain a license for real estate transactions, only 69 companies have obtained it so far. The government has made it mandatory for real estate transactions with a turnover of more than 30 million rupees in metropolitan cities and sub-metropolitan cities across the country to obtain a license.

So far, 159 companies are eligible to obtain a license, but only 69 companies have been issued licenses because the revenue has not been paid, said Khimananda Acharya, Director of the Land Revenue and Land Reforms Branch of the Land Management and Records Department.

Once the license is decided, the firm or company that transacts up to 50 million rupees at a time must pay a fee of 500,000 rupees and those that transact any amount less than or more than 50 million rupees at a time must pay a fee of 1 million rupees. ‘Although 90 companies are eligible for a license, they have not paid the revenue,’ Acharya said. He said that documents for some of the 38 are coming and verification of some is yet to be done. Companies that have obtained licenses will be allowed to conduct business within 6 metropolitan cities and 11 sub-metropolitan cities.

The department had issued a notice on 11 Falgun and made arrangements for mandatory business only from 25 Falgun. However, the department issued a notice on 19 Falgun until the licensed companies obtain permission to operate a land service center. There is a legal provision that real estate transactions must be conducted through the geo-information system by operating a land service center. The circular issued earlier has been suspended until the licensed companies obtain permission to operate a land service center.

‘Since there is a legal provision that real estate transactions must be conducted through the geo-information system by operating a land service center, the provisions of the circular issued earlier have been suspended until further orders until the licensee obtains permission to operate a land service center, so it is requested to continue to operate/have operations carried out as before,’ the notice issued by the department states.

Acharya says that every company that has taken a new license is not obliged to obtain permission from the Land Service Center. There is a legal provision to pay a fee of 5,000 rupees and a deposit of 200,000 rupees to obtain a Land Service Center license. ‘Those who have taken a new license have also expanded their scope of work.’ According to the government’s provisions, they have also taken a license from the Land Service Center to do business in the same place, while others can also do business through it, it does not mean that everyone has to take it,’ he said.

Through the Land Service Center, tasks such as filling out applications and forms online, scanning and attaching necessary documents for applications and documents submitted to the office, registering applications and forms in the Land Structure System and printing such applications and forms and providing them to the concerned persons, providing necessary information related to land administration to the service recipients are carried out. The term “person” also refers to legal practitioners or accounting practitioners, as mentioned in Chapter 6 ‘A’ of the Land Revenue Regulations.

The government had issued a notice in the Gazette on 27 Ashoja, requiring companies to obtain a permit for real estate transactions exceeding Rs 30 million at a time. Real estate companies had to apply for a permit by 27 Mangsir. The Land Management Records Department had issued a notice on 13 Kartik asking them to submit the application within 30 days.

Immediately after, on 13 Mangsir, an additional 15 days were added. It was said that 198 companies had applied during that period, but now only 197 have been received. The government has published a notice in the Gazette for the purposes of Section 26 (a) and (b) of the Land Revenue Act. Section 26 (a) of the Land Revenue Act states that a license is required to conduct real estate transactions. The section states that a license is required to be obtained for real estate transactions exceeding the area or amount specified in the notice published by the government in the same area.