Nadra not to charge processing fee if succession certificate not issued

karachi: The National Database & Registration Authority (Nadra) will not charge the processing fee of Rs22,000 (in cases of assets of over Rs100,000) or Rs10,000 (in cases of assets under Rs100,000) for issuing a succession certificate in case of the application being rejected, Nadra’s counsel told the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday.

The undertaking came during the hearing of a petition against the charging of processing fee by Nadra for the issuance of succession certificates even in case of the application being rejected. The counsel undertook before the court that Nadra would charge the nominal fee of Rs2,000 or Rs1,000 respectively.

The SHC had earlier restrained Nadra from charging any fee on issuing letters of administration or succession certificates except the formal fee as required for the issuance of CNICs, FRCs and other certificates.

An SHC division bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar directed Nadra to submit a proposal with regard to forming a committee to examine the fee structure subject to the quantum of the amount available as Tarka (the left assets of the deceased).

The court modified its earlier order after Nadra’s undertaking. It said Tarka is the inheritance of the legal heirs, and for releasing the same they approach different institutions, including Nadra.

The bench said that the committee should consider not imposing panel fee for assets up to Rs1 million. It added that exceeding amount, however, may be scaled in different categories.

The court said that for assets up to Rs1 million, Nadra may charge a nominal fee not exceeding Rs2,000 and for assets up to Rs100,000 there should be no fee except a nominal administration fee of Rs1,000. The bench directed Nadra to complete the exercise within two months and submit the compliance report.

According to the petitioner, Nadra was charging fee even in cases where the applications for the issuing of succession certificates or letters of administration were rejected.

He said that Section 5(2)(h) of the Nadra Ordinance 2000 does not authorise the authority to charge fee in such cases, but only in cases where some services is provided by them, and declining the issuance of a certificate is no service.