Times Of Swaziland: PROPERTY TRANSFERS: GOVT  EARNS E11M IN 3 MONTHS

PROPERTY TRANSFERS: GOVT  EARNS E11M IN 3 MONTHS
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BY ASHMOND NZIMA on 13/10/2021 08:03:00


MBABANE – Government has recorded a notable increase in revenue from
transactions related to property transfers in the period July to September 2021.
These are stamp duty, fees of office and search fees. According to information
sourced from the office of Deeds Registrar Lindile Manzini; the revenue for the
third quarter of the calendar year was at about at about E11.69 million.
Calculations by this publications show that this is an increment of over 51 per
cent when compared to quarter two’s figures of around E5.7 million.
A lion’s share of the revenue was generated from stamp duty (E11 645 493)
while fees of office and search fees contributed E42 091 and E1 790,
respectively.
Stamp duty is a simple a tax that is levied on single property purchases or
documents. A physical revenue stamp is to be attached to or impressed upon the
document to show that stamp duty has been paid before the document becomes
legally effective.
According to the report, deeds of transfer were recorded at an increased 301. In
the previous quarter, the figures were at only 191. Mortgage bonds also surged
from 160 to 264. Caveats, crown grants and notarial deeds of servitude were at
35, eight and two, in that order. A caveat is a defined as a statutory
injunction that prevents the registration of dealings and plans on a title. A
caveat operates as a warning on a land title to others by noting a person or
organisation’s interest in land or property.
notable
Deeds of lease, on the other hand, were at 75. It was another notable increment
from the 32 recorded in the period April to June 2021 period. As usual, the
lowest figure (one) was for general powers of attorney. Experts say this confers
general powers from the grantor to the grantee to perform and carry out various
legal acts on behalf of the grantor. The figures were at zero in the past
quarter.
Meanwhile, the Deeds Registry for Swaziland (now Eswatini), as established under
Section 3 of the Deeds Registry Act No. 37/1968 was up to and until the June 25,
1973 situated in Pretoria, South Africa. At its establishment in the country,
all matters and records kept in the Pretoria Registry were brought to the
country. The Deeds Registry Department fell under the portfolio of the Ministry
of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. It is now under the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Energy.
The registry office has a mission to examine all deeds or other documents
submitted for execution or registration, and, after examination execute or
register them as by law permitted. The office also has a duty to take charge of
and preserve all the records of the deeds registry in a document processing
system that will provide an effective storage and retrieval system as well as
maximum safety and security. The other obvious task is to collect revenue for
the central government in the form of stamp duty, fees of office and search
fees.