Amendment to the Administrators-General Act, 1963

 The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal to amend the Administrators-General Act, 1963 to raise the monetary limit from Rs. two lakh to Rs. ten lakh by introducing the Administrators-General (Amendment) Bill, 2011 in the ensuing session of Parliament.

Representations have been received by the Government from various sections for enhancing the monetary limit from Rs. two lakh to Rs. ten lakh due to the escalation in the value of assets and considerable decrease in money value.

The State Governments of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have taken steps to amend the Administrators-General Act, 1963 for enhancing monetary limit from Rs. two lakh to Rs. ten lakh with respect to its application to their States. Therefore, it is considered necessary to amend sections 9, 10, 29 and 36 of the Administrators-General Act, 1963 so as to raise the monetary limit.

The proposed Bill is also a measure to curtail the delay and expenses involved in getting succession certificate in certain cases and thereby to protect the property of a deceased person from being misappropriated.

The Administrators-General Act, 1963 (45 of 1963) is an Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the office and duties of Administrator-General. Section 29 of the Administrators-General Act, 1963, empowers the Administrator-General to grant certificate to any person, interested in the assets of a deceased person, claiming otherwise than as a creditor and such certificate can be granted only in cases where the assets left by the deceased person (except the assets of certain specified nature) does not exceed in value in the whole the monetary limit specified in that section. Originally, the monetary limit specified in the said section 29 was only Rs. 5000/-. On account of considerable decrease in money value and to protect the interest of the poor and legal heirs especially widows, minor children and other dependents of the deceased persons from protracted and expensive remedy in Civil Court, the monetary limit in the said section was enhanced to Rs. 15,000/- in 1972 to Rs.50,000/- in 1983 and to Rs. two lakh in 1999.