Guides
Explanations of the procedures that property and civil matters in West Bengal actually run on — registration, stamp duty, land records, mutation, land use, court fees and jurisdiction.
Last reviewed 17 August 2026 · Reviewed by Aditya Kumar Jain, Advocate
Most property problems in West Bengal are not, at first, disputes. They are procedural questions with expensive consequences: which value stamp duty is charged on, whether a plot recorded as sali may be built upon, whether mutation has been completed in the seller’s name, which office holds the record of rights, which court a suit is filed in. Answered early, these questions cost a few days. Answered late, they become litigation.
The guides below set out those procedures as they operate in West Bengal — through Banglarbhumi, e-Nathikaran, GRIPS, the offices of the Block Land and Land Reforms Officer, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, and the courts at Kolkata. They are written for general understanding and describe the general position only. Nothing in them is advice on any particular matter.
Registration and stamp duty
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Stamp duty and registration fees in West Bengal
What is payable on a conveyance, a gift and a partition deed, and how the value is assessed.
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The property registration process in West Bengal
From draft deed to registered document: e-assessment, payment, presentation and collection.
Land records and land use
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Land records and Banglarbhumi
Khatian, dag, mouza, parcha, and what the record of rights does and does not prove.
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Mutation (namjari) after a purchase
Two separate processes: the municipal record and the record of rights.
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Land classification and conversion
Why sali land cannot be built on, and how permission under section 4C is obtained.
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Restricted and risky land in West Bengal
Vested land, barga, thika tenancies, wakf property and leasehold plots.
Buying and selling
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Checking property documents before buying
The chain of title, the searches that reveal a defect, and the papers to obtain before paying anything.
Courts, costs and procedure
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Which court hears my case
Pecuniary and territorial jurisdiction in Kolkata, and the tribunals that displace the civil court.
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Court fees and what a civil case costs
How a suit is valued, what is paid to the court, and what else a matter requires.
Two reference pages accompany these guides: a glossary of the Bengali land and revenue terms that appear in West Bengal records, and a list of the courts at Kolkata with their addresses and what each one hears.