67. Procedure in case of non-registration of compulsorily registrable documents.
(1)On receipt of an information under sub-section (1) of section 55 of the Act, from any registering officer or any other person or where the Collector proposes to take action suo-moto under sub-section (2) of the said section. Collector shall issue a notice to the party/parties referred to in the information received, asking them to produce the original instrument and also produce all the facts and circumstances as required under section 30 of the Act, within 21 days form the date of service of the notice.(2)Where the original instrument or a copy of such instrument is produced, the Collector shall adopt the following procedure-(a)if he is of the opinion that such instrument is duly stamped or is not chargeable with duty, he shall drop the proceeding.(b)if he is of opinion that such instrument is chargeable with duty and is not duly stamped; he shall impound it and register a case under section 37(5) or 51(5) of 53(5) as the case may be and proceed accordingly.(3)Where the original instrument or a copy of such instrument is not present and/or the person to whom the notice was served, do not appear before the Collector, the Collector shall proceed to enquire into the correctness of the information.(4)The Collector may for the purpose of enquiry,-(a)Call for any information or record from any public office, officer or authority under the Government or the local authority;(b)Examine and record the statement of any member of the public, officer or authority under the Government or the local authority;(c)Inspect the property, if any, after due notice to the parties concerned.(5)After the aforesaid enquiry, where it appears to the Collector that the instrument in question has been executed but not presented for registration with a view to avoiding stamp duty, it shall be deemed to be a violation of section 30 of the Act and if such non production is with a view to concealing the consideration, if any, and all other facts and circumstances affecting the chargeability of the said instrument with duty, and the determination of such duty, the Collector shall launch a prosecution against the person concerned under section 73 or 75 of the Act, as the case may be.(6)The summary enquiry under this rule shall be completed within a period of 3 months.
