Indian Registration Act

REGISTRATION OF DOCUMENT UNDER THE REGISTRATION ACT, 1908

This write up mainly contains broad overview as regard to registration provisions applicable in state of Maharashtra.

I. Registration is notice to public:-

Registered document becomes public document, such document can be inspected and certified true copy of the same can be obtained from registration office by anybody on payment of necessary fees and by observing the prescribed procedure. Certain registered document prevails over unregistered document.

Some documents require compulsory registration wheras it is optional for others.

II. SOME IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS REQUIRING COMPULSORY REGISTRATION UNDER SECTION 17 AND UNDER SECTION 17(A) ARE AS UNDER:-

1. Any instrument of gift of immovable property.
2. Non-testamentary instruments that purport or operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest , whether vested or contingent, of the value of Rs. 100 or more in an immovable property; subject to certain specified exclusions.
3. Any non-testamentary instrument which acknowledge the receipt or payment of any consideration on account of the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinction of any such right, title or interest; subject to certain specified exclusions
4. Leases of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent.
5. Non-testamentary instruments transferring or assigning any decree or order of a court or any award when such decree or order or award purports or operated to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent of the value of ₹ 100/- and upwards, to or in immovable property.
6. Agreement relating to the deposit of title deeds by way of security for the repayment of loan or existing or future debts.
7. Sale certificate issued by any competent officer or authority under any recovery act.
8. Irrevocable power of attorney relating to transfer of immovable property in any way, executed on or after the commencement of the Registration (Maharashtra Amendment), Act 2010.
10. Any authority to adopt a son not conferred by a will.
11. State government may, by order published in the official gazette, specify the document for registration by the office of the joint sub-registrar as established.
12. The documents containing contracts to transfer for consideration, any immovable property for the purpose of section 53-A of the Transfer of the Property Act, 1882, if they have been executed on or after the commencement of the Registration and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001
13. Any agreement for leave and license or letting of any premises [Section 55 of Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999]

III. SOME DOCUMENTS OF WHICH REGISTRATION IS OPTIONAL (SECTION 18):-

Broadly, any of the following documents may be registered under this Act, namely:-

1. Instruments (other than instrument of gift and wills) which purport or operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of a value less than one hundred rupees, to or in immovable property;
2. Instruments acknowledging receipt of payment of any consideration on account of creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinction of any such right, title or interest;
3. Will;
4. Leases of immovable property for any term not exceeding one year, and leases exempted under section 17;
5. instruments transferring or assigning any decree or order of a court or any award when such decree or order or award purports or operates to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, or a value less than one hundred rupees, to or in immovable property;
6. Instruments (other than wills) which purport or operate to create declare, assign, limit, or extinguish any right, title or interest to or in movable property;
7. Other document which do not require compulsory Registration as provided in section 17.

IV. PROCEDURE OF REGISTRATION

The process of registration mainly involves the following steps and submissions of required documents/papers and payment of registration fees to the Registrar Office:-

1. Parties have to ensure that proper stamp duty has been paid as per the stamp duty reckoner on blank agreement or on the date of execution or the next day.
2. To execute the agreement, sub-registrar would require the Parties to put their photographs, signature and left hand thumb impressions.
3. Visit any sub-registrars office of that Taluka (According to village) who will determine registration fees payable and issue the Challan/confirms which accept the pay slip. Confirm agreement & its attachments with head clerk/person in-charge who will pre-check the appropriateness of documents & finalize it.
4. Pay the registration fees by Challan/pay slip of banks as per procedure laid down by respective sub-registrar. For certain documents such as development agreement, adjudication is compulsory. For agreements such as resale, adjudication is optional provided it is registered within stipulated time of 4 months. In Mumbai, registration fees are to be paid online. Registration fees are to be paid on value of such property rounded off nearest to rupees in thousands.
5. On a given telephone number of Registrar’s Office on previous day of intended Registration or few days prior, Parties are required to obtain token for which respective registrar issues some token number on:-

1. Given telephone number and / or
2. Internet under advance token system. Party has to give certain details like area, types of property, CTS No., name of party etc., obtain the appointment date, time and token number. On such appointed time and day the parties to the documents have to remain present at Registrar’s Office along with necessary requirement to comply with Registration formalities. On the day of registration the token number is announced calling the party for registration. Registrar’s Office remains open in shifts from 7am to 9pm. One mayvisit igrmaharashtra.gov.in

6. It is mandatory to furnish copy of Permanent Account No. (PAN) for registration of documents involving property exceeding Rs. 5 lakhs in value. If the party does not have PAN, then Form No. 60 may be filed along with documents to the sub-registrar.
7. Two witnesses with their photos and identification proof should remain present for identification of parties to the agreement. The witnesses have to put their photo, signatures and thumb impression before registering authority. Such witnesses need not necessarily be the same as witnesses who signed the agreement. Witnesses should put their photos, thumb impression and sign before registrar as token of identification of the parties to the document. Some registration office takes computerized digital photos, left hand thumb impression of witness and also obtain signature of witness on such document.
8. The property card of land/plot on which the property being registered is situated may be called in certain cases. Property card is required to be produced at the time of registration. CTS no./survey no. as appears on the property card and occupation certificate, society letter provides help to determine true market value of property.
9. Registration fees should be paid online. Computer charges/scanning charges etc. based on number of pages in documents are to be paid at ₹ 20/- per page for scanning fees in cash at the time of registration of document. The copy of such pay order/demand draft of bank for registration is to be submitted on the day prior to visit or if asked or on the day of registration.
10. Complete filling up of input Registration form as prescribed by the stamp duty department or Registrar or Sub-Registrar. The input registration form and document are required to be submitted at token window in advance i.e., at least before half an hour of registration. Generally, Registrar’s Office does check such submissions, and makes valuation, in advance before Registration.
11. Adjudicated document will help in faster registration. In such adjudicated document, the registrar need not ascertain the discrepancies / deficiencies for stamp duty payment. In other words, Registrar presumes that stamp duty on such adjudicated document is determined properly by collector of stamps and accordingly paid by the party.

Adjudication is the procedure by which collector determines the proper value and amount of Stamp Duty payable on application made by party.

12. In respect of old building to avail the benefit of depreciation on market value then the attachment of following proofs will help to avail depreciation on age of building.

(a) Municipal tax assessment bill

(b) Completion Certificate

(c) Occupation Certificate

(d) Telephone bill

(e) Electricity Bill

(f) Society letter

(g) IOD/CC etc.

13. For proof of authorize structures, the following documents are required:
    1. If the building is completed before March 25, 1991 the property assessment municipality bill is required to be attached.
    2. If the building is constructed / completed on or after March 25, 1991 in additional to above proof out of following is to be attached :-
       1. IOD/CC (Commencement Certificate) of building OR
       2. Building Completion Certificate OR
       3. Building Occupation Certificate

It is advisable that one has to pre-check such requirements and entire procedure with respective sub-registrar office, so there cannot be any last moment inconvenience at the time of registration.

14. Any proof of determination of market value will help to facilitate the calculation of true market value. The detailed letter from society showing the description of property, age of building (year of construction), built up area of flat, flat no. and floor on which flat is located, details of lift facility available if any, no. of floors of building, types of construction property tax bill of earlier agreement, C.T.S. No. survey no, CS no. & Village/Division etc. may help to justify the calculation of proper market value of such property as per Stamp Duty ready reckoner.
15. Stamp duty along with penalty for delay, if any, is required to be paid before registration and proof of such payment of stamp duty and penalty is to be attached at the time of registration of document. For Proof of Purchase of stamps original receipt for stamp duty paid/franking receipt, banks receipts stamp vendors bill, e-stamping proof etc. are required to be produced at the time of registration.
16. Computerized photographs of parties executing the document are also taken digitally by the Registrar’s office. The left thumb impression of all the parties to the document is also taken digitally. Through computer generated programming, the thumb impression and photographs are automatically generated and printed on separate paper which has photos of both the parties, to be further signed by all the executors before Joint registrar/sub-registrar or Joint sub-registrar. The details, thumb impressions & photographs of the witnesses are also printed and generated through computer system which also becomes part of registration. Such two witnesses have to produce their identity proof, put thumb impression & affix their respective photographs and also sign that sheet before and in presence of sub–registrar. Registrations of documents are computerized with effect from 1-2-2002. Before final registration, typed papers/sheets describing Name of the seller, buyer and address of property etc. are generally given to the Parties for final checking just before registration, for ascertaining the correctness of data comprised therein. The sub-registrar/joint sub-registrar will sign & put page no., total page & number block, his stamp etc. on each page of such agreement and on attachment.
17. Sometime, the documents are executed by power of attorney holder for and on behalf of buyer or seller. In such cases, copy of duly executed power of attorney is to be attached with the agreement which is also to be registered. Power of attorney is required to be adjudicated and should carry the sign, the photographs and left hand thumb impressions of the executor / executors and of power of attorney holder. Generally all the parties are supposed to go together for registration; however they can go at different point of time but maximum within four months of execution of such document. One is required to furnish a declaration (GhosanaPatra) in prescribed format that power of attorney, its sum, substance and contents are in force, valid & subsist on the day of registration. In case of corporate assessee, trust, firm; proper resolution of Board/Managing Committee/Office bearer as the case may be as well as photos of such authorized signatory would be required for executing the document.
18. The complete documents along with all above mentioned details are then scanned by registrar office and preserved as a permanent record at registrar’s office. Stamp duty paid receipts, receipt for Registration fees & scanning charges issued by Registrar copy of index II, which should be preserved with agreement.
19. The parties have to submit the copy of challan for registration fees. The Registrar generally by way of pay slip also collects computer and other charges at ₹ 20 per page of document. While the registration fee is to be paid online as per registrar’s office procedure, the computer processing expenses are paid by cash at Registrar office before the Registration. A receipt is issued for charges paid in cash. The pay order should be in the name of respective area’s Joint Sub-Registrar or the Sub-Registrar authorized by the department.
20. The original agreement after due registration is returned to the Party by registrar. The Party is required to sign in the delivery of document register and produce the original receipt for registration fees paid on which registrar office affixes a stamp stating “delivered”. If loan is taken than authority letter to collect original documents is taken by banks/financial institution. In such circumstances parties are advised to take index II as well as certified true copies of document from registration office for his future record.
21. The registrar also insists for production and preservation of following documents copies by the parties to the agreement:-

1. Stamp duty paid challan /Proof.
2. Registration fees paid challan.
3. The stamp duty can be paid by e-payment through GRAS (government receipt accounting system) at government website http://gras.mahakosh.gov.in through the mode of e-payment by net-banking.

22. No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Charity Commissioner, Government or Semi-Government body, may also be required if such land is held by trust/statutory authority as the case may be.
23. For Registration of Documents in Mumbai the Joint Sub-Registrar offices are divided over various jurisdictions such as Bandra, Andheri, Borivali, Kurla, etc.
24. Maharashtra state has introduced a procedure for franking E-payment of Stamp Duty to curb malpractices during registration of documents. A person entering into an agreement of sale for a flat now has to mention the name of the buyer and the seller as well as the office of the sub registrar where she/he intends to register the document. After filling up the details on the form, the bank will carry out the stamping/franking. The bank will send this information through SMS and e-mail to the sub-registrar’s office (where the documents is to be registered) and the administrative officer.
25. Mumbai has with effect from 01.04.2013 started India’s first stamp duty and registration help line. Helpline number is 22634567.

The aforesaid denotes the complete procedure for registration of document of immoveable property in Mumbai.

Like registration there is separate set of procedure for :-

1. Adjudication
2. Refund of stamp duty.

For further details on registration please refer the Maharashtra e-Registration and e-filing rules-2013 and also the Maharashtra e-payment of stamp duty and refund rules.

V. THE TIME LIMIT FOR REGISTRATION OF THE DOCUMENT

1. A document is required to be registered within 4 months from the date of its execution.
2. If the same is not registered within the stipulated time as aforesaid, then within further period of 4 months from the expiry of first 4 months on payment of penalty for late presenting the document for registration.
3. Even after expiry of 8 months from the date of execution of document, if the parties want to register it, then a fresh deed on payment of stamp duty at current market value is to be prepared and signed by both the parties to such document. In such case the document which is subject matter of registration should be attached as annexure to the deed of confirmation.
4. If the vendor dies after signing the document but before registration of such document, the legal heirs of deceased have to comply with the registration formalities. In such matter two options are available with the purchaser/transferee.

OPTION – I

Apply to Court for probate and/or suitable order for authorizing one of the legal heirs to represent for and on behalf of deceased vendor before registrar to complete the legal formalities of registration and admit the execution.

OPTION – II

Prepare a deed stating all the facts and happening of unfortunate event of vendor’s death. This deed is to be signed by the purchaser and all the legal heirs of the vendor. This deed alongwith death certificate of the original vendor and NOC from legal heirs of deceased is submitted to the registrar.

One is always advised to pre-check the matter with respective joint sub-registrar before adopting any of the above approaches.

The calculation of registration fees depends upon the date on which the document is lodged for registration, value of property etc. The maximum amount of registration fees is presently ₹ 30,000 in the state of Maharashtra.

Such registration fee is to be paid by pay slip/bank draft/R.B.I. Challan, RTGS, E-payment through GRAS or e-SBTR.

VI. IF ONE OF THE SIGNATORIES IS NOT WILLING TO ATTEND THE OFFICE OF THE SUB-REGISTRAR FOR COMPLETING THE REGISTRATION FORMALITIES,THE REMEDIES AVAILABLE ARE AS UNDER:-

If one or more of the signatories is not willing to complete the registration formalities then an application has to be made to the Sub-registrar of Assurances under section 36 of The Registration Act, 1908. Thereafter, the sub-registrar of Assurances, may in his discretion, issue summons after payment of prescribed fees.

Section 38 lists out following persons as exempt from appearance at Registration Office:

1. A person who by reason of bodily infirmity us unable without risk or serious inconvenience to appear at Registration Office;
2. A person in jail under civil or criminal process;
3. Persons exempt by law from personal appearance in Court

Registering Officer shall in such cases, either himself go to the house of such person, or the jail in which he is confined, and examine him or issue a commission for such examination.

VII. REGISTRATION (AMENDMENT BILL), 2013*

The Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2013 (the Bill) was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on August 8, 2013 by the Minister of Rural Development, Mr. Jairam Ramesh. The same is still Pending.

The Bill seeks to amend the Registration Act, 1908 (the Act).  The Act deals with registration of immovable property.

Under the Act it is not compulsory to register immovable property that is leased for less than one year.  The Bill makes registration compulsory, irrespective of the term of the lease of the immovable property, that is, even property that is leased for less than one year must be registered.

The Act provides that wills, authority to adopt by a will and any documents notified by the state government may be registered by the concerned parties.  The Bill seeks to allow the registration of these documents anywhere in the country.

The Bill prohibits registration in certain cases, specifically relating to transactions which (a) are prohibited by any central or state act;  (b) entail transfer of property owned by the central and state governments or by any person who is not statutorily empowered to do so; (c) entail transfer of property which is attached permanently by a competent authority; and (d)  may adversely affect accrued interest in immovable properties of the central, state and local governments and educational, cultural, religious and charitable institutions.

The Act specifies that immovable property can only be registered in the state within which it is located.  The Bill seeks to allow the registration of these documents anywhere in the country.

Any person presenting a document at the registration office must affix a passport size colour photograph, get photographed by a digital camera and affix their thumb impression on the document.

The Bill makes new provisions relating to the recovery of inadequate payment of registration fee and refund in case the fee paid is in excess of what is legally payable.

Amendments have been proposed as a result of the rapid computerisation of land records in the country.  For example, the Bill includes provisions for enclosing scanned copies of documents in certain cases.

All banks and financial institutions that grant loans on the basis of equitable mortgage may send an e-copy of the same to the registering officer under whose jurisdiction the property to be mortgaged is situated.

* © 2017 prsindia.org

VIII. ANNEXURE

CHART SHOWING REGISTRATION FEES PAYABLE ON SOME IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS:-

1) For the registration of agreement of leave & license, if such single document is for one or more year Relating to the property situated; in Mumbai ₹ 1000

2)	Conveyance deed, Sale deed, Agreement for sale, Gift deed, Lease deed, Release deed, Development agreement, Surrender of lease with consideration, Transfer of tenancy, Creation of tenancy, etc.	1% of higher of Agreement value or market value of property determined for stamp duty purpose or ₹ 30,000 whichever is Less. Maximum Registration Fees payable is ₹ 30,000/-
3)	Surrender of lease/Tenancy without consideration	₹ 100/-
4)	Will	₹ 100 (Registration is optional)
5)	Exchange of property	1% of higher of agreement value or market value of the Property which has greatest value or ₹ 30,000 whichever is lower.
6)	Partition	1% of market value of the share or shares remaining after separating largest share or ₹ 30000 whichever is Lower.
7)	Power of Attorney	Fees for attestation by notary of general or specific power of attorney is ₹ 25. Fees for registration of general or specific power of attorney (to specified nearest relatives) ₹ 500. Fees for other types of power of attorney is 1% of market value of the property or ₹ 30,000 whichever is lower.
8)	Affidavit, Declaration, Indemnity bond, Irrevocable Power of Attorney (Simple).	Registration fee is ₹ 100/-  Registration is not compulsory. It can be Notarized.
9)	Deposit of title deeds, Pawn, Pledge or Hypothecation (Deed, Agreement or Letter), Housing Loan, Mortgage Deed, Further charge	1% of loan secured or ₹ 30,000/- whichever is less.

Note- 9A was inserted by GN No. REG. 2008/CR/403/M-1 Dtd. 16-2-2009 whereby in the case of power of attorney given without consideration to father, brother, sister, husband, wife, son, daughter, granddaughter or to near relatives as defined under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) the amount of registration fee shall be ₹ 100/- only.