LAHORE – Lahore High Court shared verdict on the imposition of 2% stamp duty on the partition of inherited property, ruling that the applicable duty is a fixed Rs500 under the Stamp Act, 1899.
Justice Tanveer Ahmed Sheikh of LHC issued the ruling while accepting a writ petition filed by Muhammad Sajjad, setting aside the 2025 decisions of a civil judge and an additional sessions judge.
In written judgment, the judge declared a judicial precedent, the court held that the lower courts had offered no legal justification for charging duty at 2%. The judgment also clarified that bringing other co-owners into the proceedings as parties does not alter the nature of the case.
The court ruled that a percentage-based financial burden cannot be imposed without lawful authority, affirming the fixed Rs500 stamp duty applicable to inherited property partition.
