Provisions including mandatory submission of buyer-seller's bank statement in real estate transactions, depositing in revenue account and disclosing on the paper of the contract were removed after the intervention of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Office.
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Following the interest of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and opposition from businessmen, the Directive 2082 issued regarding the prevention of financial investment in money laundering and terrorist activities has been amended. From that directive, 5 provisions including mandatory submission of bank statements of buyers and sellers and filling of KYC have been removed.
The Department of Land Management and Records approved this on May 13 and issued a 'circular' in this regard to land reform and land registry offices and land registry offices across the country on May 14. Kedarnath Sharma, secretary of the Ministry of Lands, said that the KYC would be duplicated for simplification. "The provision to fill KYC has been removed immediately," he said.
According to department sources, provisions such as compulsory submission of buyer-seller's bank statement, depositing in revenue account and disclosure in the paper of the contract have been removed in real estate transactions.
Before this, "When dealing with the purchase and sale of real estate, the indexing organization must attach a written proof that the amount equal to the transaction has been deposited from the buyer's bank account to the seller's bank account," it was said in the instructions. Sources of the department said that even though it was said to be proof of the transaction amount, the public was forced to remove the entire bank statement.
The indicator organization has to fill in the KYC form of both the buyer and the seller while doing real estate purchase and sale transactions and upload it in writing to the system. Such KYC form should be filled by the land service center in the offices where the land service center is implemented and by the service desk of the office in the offices where the land service center is not implemented, and uploaded in writing to the system," the instructions said. The department claims that it was removed as it would be duplicitous.
Now, when buying and selling real estate, transactions above 10 lakhs and up to 50 lakh rupees will have to be done through banking system or electronic payment system. But the transaction of more than 50 lakh rupees should be done directly through electronic payment system and through check through 'good for payment' check drawn in the name of the seller. According to the department, some changes have been made in the said arrangement.
In the real estate transaction, if the municipality has submitted a bill of exchange certified by the municipality, if there is a bill of exchange amounting to more than 10 lakh rupees, the department said that the details of the transaction from the buyer's bank account to the seller's account through banking or electronic system should be submitted along with the bill of sale document. This provision has also been removed.
"In the case of offices that have arrangements to file revenue through banks, the registration fees and duties incurred during real estate transactions of more than 10 lakhs must be deposited from the buyer's account and the profit tax from the seller's account to the revenue account designated by the office," the directive said. The said provision has also been removed by the department.
Nepal has been included in the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Nepal has two years to remove the country from the list. An action plan has also been made for this. According to the same action plan, the department has issued an asset clearance directive regarding real estate transactions. But due to pressure from all directions, the department's instructions could not last even a week.
By amending the Property Act, 2034, it has already made provisions including the need to obtain a permit for real estate transactions. But the regulations of the goods have not been amended. Although the department has sent the regulation for revision, it is still in the ministry. Now these matters will be included in the cargo regulations and will be implemented, according to the department.
