Burden of proof

It is perplexing that real estate developers, cooperative societies and government land authorities continue to insist on the sub- mission of original booking and installment payment receipts despite having comprehensive records of all such transactions. These entities routinely receive payments through traceable instruments, such as cheques and pay orders, which are duly recorded in their systems.
Given this, it is reasonable to question why they require buyers or property-owners to retain and present original receipts at the time of sale or transfer.
Almost all builders, including the mightiest of them all, ask their clients to preserve and produce original receipts even decades after the initial transaction.
This practice places an unnecessary and undue burden on the owners, forcing them to maintain physical documents indefinitely. In the event a receipt is misplaced, the owners are subjected to hefty charges and a cumbersome process to obtain a duplicate.
This approach is outdated and inefficient. In an era of digitisation, it is both feasible and imperative for developers and authorities to maintain complete digital records of all financial transactions.
There is an urgent need for regulatory guidance or directives requiring such institutions to rely on their own verified digital records rather than burdening the customers with the responsibility of document preservation.
Strict instructions must be issued to all builders, developers, societies and land authorities to ensure that they maintain proper digital records, and refrain from imposing unnecessary documentation requirements on their clients during the property’s transfer or sale transactions.
ABID AJMAL
KARACHI