The October 2026 gift exemption is days old at the time of writing. Confirm it at the Sub-Registrar or e-stamp counter before you pay, because counter practice may still be catching up with the ordinance.
For context only, the previous position was 2% of value for urban property and 1% elsewhere, charged on the district valuation table value and paid by the receiver. Do not use that older figure as today's cost. If the person receiving the gift is outside the exempt circle, budget for the 1% rate and confirm the value base at the counter.
When a property is inherited
The first confusion in inheritance cases is the name of the paper. A Succession Certificate covers movable assets only, such as bank accounts, shares and vehicles. A Letter of Administration covers immovable property, such as a house or plot, and general administration of an estate where the owner died without a will. Asking for the wrong document wastes the whole application.
Since the 2021 Act, NADRA's Succession Facilitation Units issue both documents for undisputed estates. If heirs dispute the shares, an heir is a minor, or NADRA declines the case, the matter goes to the civil court under the Succession Act 1925.
For an undisputed case, one heir applies with the death certificate, cancellation of the deceased person's CNIC, the NADRA Family Registration Certificate, the CNICs of all heirs, asset details and an authorisation letter. Every heir then completes biometric verification, at a NADRA centre, at a Pakistan mission abroad, or through the Pak ID app. NADRA publishes a public notice, and if no objection is raised within 14 days, the document issues showing each heir's share. The reported NADRA fee is Rs 10,000 where assets are under Rs 100,000 and Rs 20,000 where assets are Rs 100,000 or more, and a complete undisputed case takes about 15 to 20 working days, not counting the time spent gathering documents. Confirm the fee at the facilitation unit before applying.
One point catches families out. The succession paper alone does not change ownership. Heirs must still complete the transfer step: inheritance mutation at the Arazi Record Centre for PLRA land, or transfer on the DHA or society file. And the two routes ask for different files. For ordinary PLRA land, inheritance mutation runs on the death certificate, Family Registration Certificate and affidavit route, and PLRA's list does not include a succession certificate. DHA and housing society files do ask for a Letter of Administration, a succession certificate or a court declaratory decree. Different authority, different file, not a contradiction.
Mutation at the Arazi Centre
Mutation, or intiqal, is the entry in the land record that makes the new owner the owner on paper. For PLRA land in Lahore, an inheritance mutation needs the death certificate, the NADRA Family Registration Certificate, an affidavit by the applicant heir, property details such as fard, khewat, khasra and mauza, and CNIC copies of all legal heirs. Any one legal heir can file, and the Family Registration Certificate must list every child, including married daughters. Leaving a daughter off the certificate is not a shortcut. It is the start of a dispute.
The process runs in two visits. Staff register the request and issue a challan, a next visit date is fixed within 15 days for inheritance mutations, and on that date the parties and witnesses attend before the Revenue Officer. On approval, the parties receive the mutation copy and an updated fard. Until that entry is made, heirs cannot sell, divide or mortgage the land in their own names.
The PLRA service charges for 2026-27, notified in July 2026, are set out below. These are service charges only. Board of Revenue duties and taxes are collected separately, so Rs 1,200 is not the total cost of a transfer.
| PLRA service | Charge |
|---|
| Ordinary mutation | Rs 1,200 |
| Mutation through banks | Rs 2,100 |
| Express mutation | Rs 11,200 |
| Standard copy of fard, mutation or girdawari | Rs 900 |
| Express copy | Rs 4,000 |
| Naqal of Arazi Record | Rs 5,000 |
| Green Property Certificate | Rs 800 |
| Copy of a registered deed | Rs 1,400 |
| Property Transfer System for societies and authorities | Rs 3,000 |
Family transfer inside DHA Lahore
DHA Lahore has a distinct Hiba Transfer category, and it is narrower than most families expect. It covers parents and children, husband and wife, real brothers and sisters, and legal heirs, as set out in DHA's own Hiba form. A gift to someone outside that circle is not a DHA Hiba transfer, and its fee may be different.
The file is also heavier than a handshake. DHA asks for a forwarding letter, the original allotment or transfer letter for cancellation, the original NADRA Family Registration Certificate, a declaration of gift on Rs 300 e-stamp paper, clearance of all dues and an NDC, the receiver's tax undertaking and acceptance on Rs 300 e-stamp paper, attested CNIC copies of giver, receiver and two witnesses, two blue background photos of the receiver, an Associate Membership form with paid challan, and CVT-1 and IT-5 forms. The two witnesses must physically appear with their original CNICs. For a registered plot, the original transfer or sale deed and surrender affidavits are also needed. Stamp duty is paid by the receiver after transfer. For a house, the original transfer letter issues only after mutation in the concerned Cantonment Board, and a TIP receipt with clearance certificate plus property tax clearance from Walton or Lahore Cantonment Board is needed before the NDC.
Here is the surprise most families do not expect. A DHA Hiba pays the same DHA transfer fee as an open market transfer. A gift saves nothing on DHA's side: full transfer fee, full registration, full sports fund. The general residential schedule in force from 1 July 2025 is:
| Plot size | DHA transfer fee |
|---|
| 5 Marla | Rs 52,500 |
| 8 Marla | Rs 84,000 |
| 10 Marla | Rs 105,000 |
| 1 Kanal | Rs 210,000 |
| 2 Kanal | Rs 420,000 |
Add the sports fund of Rs 10,500 per transfer and file verification of Rs 5,250. A house transfer costs one and a half times the plot fee. One caution applies to the whole table. The fee varies by phase: the DHA Phase 1 table shows 5 Marla at Rs 63,000, not Rs 52,500. Treat the table above as the general schedule and confirm your phase's figure at the DHA counter.
For a DHA legal heir transfer after a death, the file needs the original allotment or transfer letter, an attested death certificate, either a civil court declaratory decree naming the legal heirs or a NADRA Letter of Administration or Succession Certificate, the Family Registration Certificate, attested CNIC copies and blue background photos of each heir, death advertisements in one Urdu and one English newspaper in DHA's approved format, a joint legal heirs membership form, and paid challans. This guide does not quote a DHA inheritance transfer fee, because no figure from DHA's own schedule could be verified for it. Ask at the counter and get it in writing before budgeting.
What tax applies, and what does not
Two old FBR circulars still frame the tax side, and they are worth knowing by name. FBR Circular 10 of 2015 treats gifts between spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, brother and sister as genuine, and says they do not suffer withholding tax under section 236K, on the basis that section 79 recognises no gain or loss on a gift. FBR Circular 2 of 2014 says section 236K does not apply to inheritance, because the property is neither purchased nor is any consideration paid.
There is no standalone gift tax in Pakistan. That does not make every family transfer tax free. A gift from outside the defined relative categories, or a cash gift without a banking channel trail, risks being taxed as unexplained income under section 111 or as income from other sources under section 39. Provincial registration and transfer charges still apply even where FBR withholding does not, which is why the DHA and PLRA charges above matter separately from the tax circulars.
One tax question has no safe general answer, so this guide gives none. A gain on a later sale of a gifted or inherited property is chargeable as a capital gain under section 37, but the cost basis rule for gifted and inherited property has changed repeatedly and is contested, with positions changing again in 2026. Get current tax advice before selling a gifted or inherited property, and do not rely on a single cost basis figure from an old guide. The wider buyer and seller tax picture is set out in our guide to property tax in Pakistan. For the same reason, do not assume a seller side advance tax exemption for gifts or inheritance. No verified exemption for section 236C was found for this guide.
Four traps that undo family transfers
The first trap is the oral gift. An oral gift can be valid in law if offer, acceptance and possession are all proved, but proof years later is where families lose. In 2026 SCMR 587, the Supreme Court restored sisters' inheritance rights where sons claiming an oral gift could not prove when, where, before whom or how it was made, applying strict scrutiny where daughters were being excluded. Register the deed, deliver possession and mutate. That sequence is the whole defence.
The second trap is gifting more than you own. A donor can gift only their own share. Gifting a whole house while owning only a share, or gifting without delivering possession, leaves the gift open to challenge by the other owners.
The third trap is stopping halfway. Heirs who hold a succession paper but never mutate, and families who sign a gift deed but never transfer the file, still do not own the property on paper. They cannot sell it, divide it or mortgage it in their own names until the last step is done.
The fourth trap is a vague power of attorney. A general power of attorney that does not name the exact property and the exact act authorised is a frequent cause of rejected or contested transfers. Name the plot or house by block and society, or by khewat and khasra for PLRA land, name the act, and exclude mortgaging, gifting and further delegation unless genuinely intended. A forged, expired or improperly attested power of attorney will be rejected.
If a family member lives abroad
A family member abroad does not need to fly home to gift or receive property, but the paper must travel through three steps. First, the power of attorney is executed before the Pakistani embassy or consulate in the country of residence, with the executant appearing in person with passport, CNIC or NICOP and photos. Second, it is verified by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs after it arrives in Pakistan. Third, it is adjudicated for stamp duty and registered at the Sub-Registrar in the district where the property lies. Until that third step is done, it is not enforceable for property dealings.
For NADRA succession, heirs abroad complete biometric verification at a designated Pakistan mission or through the Pak ID app, and one heir can apply on the others' behalf under a letter of authorisation or special power of attorney. The attestation chain for buyers abroad is also covered in our guide for overseas Pakistanis buying in Lahore. PLRA adds US$50 per land record transaction handled through foreign missions.
Before you sign
A short check saves most of the grief above. Confirm who actually owns the property and in what share, and get a fresh fard or society record before drafting anything. Check the society's legal standing where the record is held by a housing authority rather than PLRA. Decide whether the transfer is a gift, an inheritance or a sale, and use that route's file, not a neighbour's. If it is a gift, put it in writing before witnesses, register it and mutate it. If it is an inheritance, get the right NADRA paper for immovable property, then mutate or transfer the file. If anyone in the family lives abroad, start the attestation chain early, because it takes longer than the rest of the file.
It also helps to know what the property is worth before it is divided or gifted, so shares are discussed with a number in front of everyone. You can estimate your Lahore property value with Shakir Estate's AI Property Value Estimator before speaking with an agent. AI valuations are estimates based on available market information and property inputs. Actual sale value can vary according to exact location, condition, plot orientation, street width, development status, demand, documentation and negotiation.
Family transfers go wrong less often because families disagree than because they stop one step short of a complete record. A registered deed, a correct succession paper and a completed mutation cost time and fees now. They are far cheaper than proving an oral gift or an unmutated inheritance in front of a court later. If your case involves a disputed share, a minor heir, a property in more than one authority, or a later sale of a gifted property, take professional legal and tax advice on your own facts before signing. For a straightforward family transfer in Lahore, Shakir Estate can help you check the record, compare the route and get the file in order. Call +92 300 4630499 to discuss your case.
Last updated: 26 October 2026. Figures in this guide were verified on 26 October 2026 from the sources named in the text. The October 2026 gift stamp duty ordinance, DHA phase fee tables and tax cost basis rules can change, so confirm the current position at the relevant counter before paying.
