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  "title": "PUNJAB LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION AND SUCCESSION CERTIFICATES ACT 2021",
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  "text": "THE PUNJAB LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION AND \r\nSUCCESSION CERTIFICATES ACT 2021 \r\n(IX of 2021) \r\nCONTENTS \r\n \r\n1. Short title, extent and commencement \r\n2. Definitions \r\n3. Issuance of Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates \r\n4. Establishment of Succession Facilitation Unit \r\n5. Functions of Succession Facilitation Unit \r\n6. Application for Letters of Administration or Succession certificates \r\n7. Forms of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates \r\n8. Objection to Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates \r\n9. Fee and costs \r\n10. [omitted] \r\n11. Penalty, offences and trial \r\n12. Act to override other laws \r\n13. Power to make rules \r\n14. Repeal \r\n \r\n  \r\n \r\n \r\nTEXT \r\n1\r\nTHE PUNJAB LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION AND SUCCESSION \r\nCERTIFICATES ACT 2021 \r\n(IX of 2021) \r\n    [17 May 2021] \r\nAn \r\nAct \r\nto provide for an efficacious and speedy mechanism for issuance of Letters of \r\nAdministration and Succession Certificates. \r\nIt is expedient to provide for an efficacious and speedy mechanism for facilitating \r\nissuance of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates, aimed at curtailing \r\nfraud and forgery. \r\nBe it enacted by Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as follows:  \r\n1. Short title, extent and commencement. (1) This Act may be cited as the \r\nPunjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act 2021. \r\n(2) It extends to whole of the Punjab. \r\n(3) This Act or any part thereof shall come into force on such dates as the \r\nGovernment may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint. \r\n2. Definitions. In this Act: \r\n(a) “Authority” means the National Database and Registration Authority \r\nestablished under section 3 of the National Database and Registration \r\nAuthority Ordinance, 2000 (VIII of 2000); \r\n(b) “factual controversy” includes an objection by legal heirs or by any \r\nclaimant of legal heirship, any dispute which may arise in establishing \r\nthe identity of legal heirs which is not resolvable by the Authority or any \r\nsituation, matter or event requiring adjudication or recording of evidence \r\nor where at least one of the legal heirs is a minor; \r\n(c) “Government” means Government of the Punjab; \r\n(d) “legal heir” means a person who has entitlement to a share in the \r\nproperty of the deceased; \r\n(e) “prescribed” means prescribed by the rules; and \r\n(f) “rules” means the rules made under this Act; \r\n3. Issuance of Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates. \r\nNotwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the \r\nAuthority \r\n2\r\n[or a civil court] may issue Letters of Administration or Succession \r\nCertificates, as the case may be, to the legal heirs of a deceased in respect of \r\n                                                      \r\n1.This Act was passed by Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on 17 May 2021; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 17 \r\nMay 2021; and, was published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated: 17 May 2021, pp.9199-9201. \r\n2.Inserted by the Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates (Amendment) Act 2025 (LXII of 2025), published \r\nin the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated : 31 July 2025, p 589.s.2(a). \r\n  \r\n \r\n \r\nimmovable or movable property, in accordance with the Family Registration \r\nCertificate maintained by the Authority \r\n3\r\n[:] \r\n4\r\n[Provided that in case of a civil court, the procedure as provided in the \r\nSuccession Act 1925 (XXXIX of 1925), shall be followed.] \r\n4. Establishment of Succession Facilitation Unit. (1) The Authority shall \r\nestablish a Succession Facilitation Unit for the purpose of receipt, processing and \r\nassessment of applications for grant of Letters of Administration and Succession \r\nCertificates. \r\n(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), the Authority may notify any of its \r\nexisting offices as Succession Facilitation Unit, at such place or places as it may \r\ndeem appropriate. \r\n(3) The Authority may, from time to time, appoint officers, staff, experts, \r\nconsultants, advisers and other employees, on such terms and conditions as it may \r\ndeem fit, for the purpose of carrying functions under this Act. \r\n5. Functions of Succession Facilitation Unit.The Succession Facilitation Unit \r\nshall perform the following functions: \r\n(a) receive applications for grant of Letters of Administration and \r\nSuccession Certificates, as the case may be, from legal heirs of the \r\ndeceased; \r\n(b) process and assess the applications by way of a summary enquiry as \r\nprescribed, and in case of any factual controversy amongst the legal \r\nheirs decline to assess the applications for filing afresh before the \r\nappropriate forum in accordance with the provisions of the Succession \r\nAct, 1925 (XXXIX of 1925) or any other applicable law; \r\n(c) maintain an online portal providing for updated record of the Letters of \r\nAdministration and Succession Certificates issued under this Act; and \r\n(d) discharge or perform such functions as are incidental, ancillary or \r\nnecessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act. \r\n6. Application for Letters of Administration or Succession certificates. (1) \r\nAn application for grant of Letter of Administration or Succession Certificate, as the \r\ncase may be, shall be made to the Authority by the legal heirs: \r\nProvided that legal heirs may also authorize in the prescribed form, one \r\namongst themselves, to act on behalf of all other legal heirs, for the purpose of filing \r\nan application under this Act. \r\n(2) An application may be filed in the notified office of the Authority within \r\nwhose jurisdiction the deceased ordinarily resided at the time of his death, or within \r\nwhose jurisdiction any property or asset of the deceased is located. \r\n(3) The following documents shall be appended along with the application: \r\n(a) death certificate of the deceased; \r\n(b) list of the legal heirs and copies of their national identity cards; \r\n                                                      \r\n3.Substituted for “full stop” by the Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates (Amendment) Act 2025 (LXII of \r\n2025), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated : 31 July 2025, p 589.s.2(b). \r\n4.Added by the Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates (Amendment) Act 2025 (LXII of 2025), published in \r\nthe Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated : 31 July 2025, p 589.s.2(b). \r\n \r\n \r\n(c) an authorization in the prescribed form by the legal heirs in favour of the \r\napplicant as provided in proviso to subsection (1); and \r\n(d) details of immovable and movable property in respect of which the \r\nLetter of Administration or Succession Certificate is applied for. \r\n(4) Upon receipt of the application, a notice to the general public shall be \r\npublished on a web portal to be maintained by the Authority and in one English \r\nlanguage and one Urdu language daily newspaper of wide circulation. \r\n(5) Where no objection or claim is received within fourteen days of the \r\npublication of notice, the Authority shall, in any of its notified offices, obtain the bio-\r\nmetric verification of the applicant and all the legal heirs: \r\nProvided that where bio-metrics of a legal heir is not verified, the Authority \r\nmay require the legal heir to appear in person before the Authority on a date fixed by \r\nthe Authority: \r\nProvided further that the Authority may resort to any other modern device \r\nwith a view to satisfying itself as to the identity of any legal heir. \r\nExplanation: The bio-metric verification can be undertaken at any notified \r\noffice within Pakistan or abroad. \r\n(6) Upon satisfactory compliance of the codal formalities mentioned in this \r\nsection, the applicant shall appear before the Authority on a date fixed by it, \r\nwhereafter the Authority shall issue the Letter of Administration or Succession \r\nCertificate, as the case may be, in favour of all legal heirs of the deceased with \r\ndetails of their respective shares as provided in the personal law of such legal heirs. \r\n(7) The Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates issued under \r\nthis Act shall have the same effect as if the same have been issued under the \r\nSuccession Act, 1925 (XXXIX of 1925). \r\n7. Forms of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates. Letters \r\nof Administration and Succession Certificates shall be issued, as nearly as \r\ncircumstances admit, in the forms prescribed by the Authority. \r\n8. Objection to Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates. Any \r\nperson objecting to Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates, as the case \r\nmay be, after the issuance of the Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates \r\nby the Authority, may seek remedies available under any other applicable law. \r\n9. Fee and costs. (1) The Authority may charge the prescribed fees or other \r\nsums for its services under this Act including sums incurred on publication of public \r\nnotice. \r\n(2) The charges or sums received under subsection (1) shall be credited to \r\nthe NADRA Fund established under section 24 of the National Database and \r\nRegistration Authority Ordinance, 2000 (VIII of 2000). \r\n10. \r\n5\r\n[* * * * * * * * * * *] \r\n11. Penalty, offences and trial. The provisions in relation to offences, penalties \r\nand trial mentioned in Chapter IX of the National Database and Registration Authority \r\nOrdinance, 2000 (VIII of 2000) shall apply mutatis mutandis under this Act. \r\n                                                      \r\n5.Omitted “Section 10” by the Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates (Amendment) Act 2025 (LXII of 2025), \r\npublished in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated : 31 July 2025, p 589.s.2(b). \r\n \r\n \r\n12. Act to override o ther laws . The provisions of this Act shall have effect \r\nnotwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force. \r\n13. Power to make rules. The Government may, by notification in the official \r\nGazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act. \r\n14. Repeal. The Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates \r\nOrdinance 2021 (VIII of 2021) is hereby repealed.",
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