Bakshish Patra in English: Gift Deed Meaning in Land Records

Bakshish patra in English means gift deed. Bakhshish nama, tamleek nama and hiba nama are other names for the same thing: a registered deed by which an owner gives land or a house to someone without payment. When you see "bakhshish" next to an entry in a Punjab or Haryana jamabandi, it means that land changed hands by gift.

This guide explains each word, how a bakshish patra is made and registered, what it costs in Punjab, what FEMA allows NRI families, and how to read a bakshish mutation in your fard.

What does bakshish mean, and where do you see it?

Bakhshish is a Persian word for a gift or something given freely. In everyday Hindi and Urdu it can also mean a tip (baksheesh). In land records it means a transfer of property by gift.

You meet it in three places:

• On the deed itself, often titled bakhshish nama or hiba nama in Punjabi and Urdu deeds.
• In the mutation (intkal) that follows, whose type may be written as bakhshish, hiba or tamleek.
• In the jamabandi remarks column, which lists the intkal number that made the change.

The words come from the old Urdu revenue tradition, so they appear mainly in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir records, and in Urdu documents elsewhere. Search the terms below in any spelling you have seen.

For a wider word list, see our guide to land record words in English.

What is a tamleek nama, and how is it different from hiba?

A tamleek nama is a deed that makes someone the owner, and in practice it is a gift deed. Tamleek (or tamlik) is Urdu for conferring ownership, and older Punjab and J&K deeds use it especially for gifts within the family, such as a husband giving land to his wife.

Hiba is the word Muslim law uses for a gift. The legal difference matters:

The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 exempts Muslim gifts from its registration rule (section 129). For everyone else, an unregistered gift of land is not a valid gift, whatever it is called.

How is a bakshish patra made and registered?

A gift of land is valid only by a deed registered at the sub-registrar's office, signed by the donor and attested by at least two witnesses (section 123 of the Transfer of Property Act). The receiver must accept it while the donor is alive (section 122). Once that is done, the gift is generally final.

1. 1

   Check the donor can gift it

   The donor must own what they are giving. Get a current fard to confirm the share and khasra numbers, and check there is no mortgage, stay or dispute.
2. 2

   Draft the deed

   Name donor and receiver, their relationship, the khewat, khatauni and khasra numbers, area and village, and state that no money is paid. Add any condition, such as a right to live there, clearly.
3. 3

   Pay stamp duty and the registration fee

   Check whether the relationship qualifies for a family concession. Buy the e-stamp for the right amount.
4. 4

   Book and attend the sub-registrar

   Donor, receiver and two witnesses appear with ID. Photos and thumbprints are taken and the deed is registered.
5. 5

   Apply for mutation

   The registered deed goes to the patwari for an intkal. The revenue officer sanctions it, and the receiver's name enters the jamabandi.

If the donor lives abroad, they can sign before an Indian consulate or a local notary with an apostille, and the deed is then presented for registration in India. Ask the sub-registrar first, since practice varies. Our guide to power of attorney from abroad explains the attestation step.

How much stamp duty is there on a gift deed in Punjab?

Punjab charges no stamp duty on a gift deed in favour of specified blood relatives, such as a spouse, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, under a state notification. The registration fee is still payable, and other charges may apply. Gifts to anyone outside the list pay the normal rate, like a sale.

The exact list of relatives and the fees change by notification, so confirm both with the sub-registrar before you book.

On income tax, a gift of property from a relative is not taxed in the receiver's hands. That rule is now in section 92 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (it was section 56(2)(x) of the 1961 Act). A gift from a non-relative worth more than ₹50,000 by stamp duty value is taxed as the receiver's income. Ask a chartered accountant if anyone is a tax resident abroad.

Can an NRI gift or receive land by bakshish?

An NRI or OCI cannot receive agricultural land, a plantation or a farmhouse as a gift, even from a parent. They can receive a house, flat or commercial property as a gift from a relative. This comes from FEMA and its rules for non-residents.

Going the other way, an NRI or OCI who already owns farmland, say by inheritance, can gift it only to an Indian citizen who lives in India.

Answer three questions to see where your gift stands.

How do you read a bakshish mutation in your fard?

Start in the jamabandi's remarks column, where each change is listed by its intkal number. Open that intkal for the same village, and it shows the type of transfer, the parties, the share and khasras, the registered deed it relied on, and whether it was sanctioned.

Look for these points:

• Type: bakhshish, hiba or tamleek means a gift. Bai means a sale, virasat an inheritance, rehan a mortgage.
• Parties: the donor's name leaves, the receiver's name enters, with the share given.
• Deed reference: the wasika (registered deed) number and date. A gift intkal without a registered deed behind it is a red flag, except for an oral Muslim hiba.
• Status: sanctioned (manzoor) or rejected (namanzoor), with the officer and date.

On PLRS you can open the intkal by number. Our Punjab jamabandi and fard guide shows the screens, and the mutation explainer covers how intkal works in every state.

What if a bakshish entry appears that you did not expect?

Treat it like an unexplained sale. A gift deed can be forged or signed by an impersonator just as a sale deed can, and a gift mutation can move land out of a family member's name without a rupee changing hands.

Get a signed fard and a certified copy of the intkal and the registered deed, note the dates, and talk to a local property lawyer quickly, because revenue appeal limits are short. Our guide to challenging a wrong mutation explains the objection, appeal and civil suit routes.

How do you keep watch while the gift goes through?

A gift deed, its mutation and the updated jamabandi can take weeks or months, and you want to see the right entry go through and no other. PlotPehra checks the official land record every week in 19 states, including Punjab, Haryana and Himachal, and flags a new mutation, owner or share change, reviewed by a real person and explained by email and WhatsApp. In J&K we watch from space only. No power of attorney, ever.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Gift rules, stamp duty concessions and FEMA limits change, so talk to a local property lawyer before signing a gift deed, and a chartered accountant about tax.