Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1972-1973 — Page 16

Omission of dates/Memorial Nos./Chinese characters Incorrect spelling of words/typing errors...

6,988

6,742

Incorrect description of parcels

6,039

Stopped because of errors found in connected instrument

5,895

Incorrect/insufficient description of parties

4,278

Authentication of amendments/deletions/additions required

3,967

Incorrect/insufficient registration fee

1,169

Incorrect/insufficient information on partition

553

Incorrect/insufficient description of plan ...

469

...

Suggestion by Land Office for improvement of instrument

460

Incorrect/insufficient description of consideration

425

Incorrect/insufficient execution

388

Incorrect/insufficient stamp duty

348

Incorrect/insufficient description of Crown Rent

321

Land Officer's consent required for registration of instrument...

189

Total

38,231

Searches

31. An essential preliminary to every land transaction is a search in the land registers to ascertain who is registered as the owner of the property and what, if any, incumbrances are registered against it. Under the Land Registration Fees Regulations, a fee of $1 is payable for each record produced, but where more than one hundred records relating to the same subdivided building are produced at the same time the fee is $100. To facilitate the operation of this system, books of one hundred $1 search tickets are available for purchase, one ticket being surrendered for each record produced. The books are purchased mainly by solicitors, whose clerks are engaged in frequent searches of the records.

32. During the year 129,792 searches were made by members of the pubilc, 19,644 (17.8%) more than the previous year's total, which suggests that there are many more land transactions in the pipeline. The vast majority of these searches were made by solicitors' clerks, who are familiar with the Land Office system of keeping the registers. In addition, 200,244 searches were made for Government departments either by their own or by the Land Office staff.

Stamp Duty

33. Due to the general increase in considerations, the total amount of stamp duty paid on instruments registered jumped by more than $46.74m. over the 1971-72 figure to $109.02m.

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