HOW TO REGISTER IMMOVABLE PROPERTY IN INDIA FOR A NON - RESIDENT.

Lawyer for NRI helping with Property Registration

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By Legal Team NRI Legal Services NRI Property Lawyer September 27, 2021

Registering the immovable property is a mandatory and statutory work in India. This is because this places a major role in the sale of any immovable property. The documents involved in the registration of the immovable property will further be put in the public domain for the public access as this will show cautions, qualifications, restrictions etc. with respect to the rights that are involved with the said properties. Therefore, the process of registration will keep fraud and misrepresentation at bay. It has to be kept in mind that the liability and duty for the registration lies on the buyer. The regulations with respect to registering an immovable property by any Non – resident of India is little different to the normal one. Hiring the best lawyer who specializes in property law is necessary to help the client with the whole process. Adv. Bindu Dubey is one of the NRI Property Lawyer in Mumbai who can make the process of registration easy for the client who resides outside India.

Who is NRI? NRI Definition as per Indian Law

In simple terms, Indian citizen who lives outside India for the purpose of Job, studies or any other purpose, for a certain duration, are categorized as NRI (Non – resident of India). The justifiable meaning of NRI has been defined under Income Tax Act of 1961 and the Foreign exchange Act of 1999. With respect to the foreign exchange management Act of 1999, the residential position of any citizen is decided with respect to their ideas and intentions to reside in India, however, under the Income Tax Act it is calculated based on the duration a person stays in India. The Amendment of Finance Act of 2020 it has been mentioned that the number of days which will decide if the person is a NRI or not has been reduced from 182 to 120.

It is a very common misunderstanding and miscalculation that if an Indian citizen who reside outside India will be allowed to purchase and register for immovable property in India. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s policy under the ‘Acquisition and transfer’ of immovable property it has been stated that non – residents of India, Foreign nationals of Non – Indian origins, PIOs etc. will not be allowed to purchase agricultural property, farm house or plantation land. However, the transfer of the same under the already available ownership of NRI is allowed with respect to the Foreign Exchange management Regulations of 2000. For the extra understanding of the registration of Property in India it is important to look into the constitutional purpose, intent, aim or objective for drafting and enacting the ‘REGISTRATION ACT OF 1908’ The supreme court has mentioned in the case of ‘Suraj Lamp Industries pvt. Ltd. Via director Vs. the state of Haryana’ that the Act was made to show orderliness and public notice with respect to the transactions which is with the property and to protect the property from the fraud of the transfer of the documents involved. Therefore, any registered deed becomes unalterable and absolute. This will be used as recorded or factual evidence in front of the court.

COMPULSORY REGISTRATION:

Documents and papers establishing the sale; Transfer of immovable property (excluding the testamentary tools) for value more than 100/-. Failure to do so will be punished under Section 17 of the Act.

NON – COMPULSORY FOR REGISTRATION:

Under section 18 of the Act few documents are not deemed mandatory to be registered they are, will; power of attorney; agreement to mortgage and sell; lease document etc.

If anyone fails to register with respect to the ‘compulsory registration’ then they will have to face the legal consequences which will invalidate the documents validity while further transfer; it will invalidate the evidential value of the document i.e., this will affect the validity of the immovable property’s documents in front of the Judiciary and this will make way for easy fraud because of the deficit in the public domain.

The REGISTRATION FEES for the registering of property varies from state to state and the TIME LIMIT for the registering will have to be done within four months. If it exceeds the mentioned timeline then another four months grace time will be given. However, if it exceeds more than that then the registration fees * 10 times the amount will have to be paid as fine.

Another common misunderstanding is the confusion with the STAMP DUTY and REGISTRATION FEES. Stamp duty will be paid under Indian Stamp Act of 1899 and the Registration fees is paid under Indian Registration Act of 1908. The stamp duty is the tax for the transaction of property.

REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR AN NRI:

All the documents and files with respect to the immovable property will be submitted to the Sub – registrars office in their sub – district where the property is situated. The officer will visit the residence of anyone who wants to deposit any files regarding the transfer or sale. All the said docs for the sale or transfer will then need proper presentation in the said manner, The seller and buyer of the property; the representative of the seller or buyer and they will have to be sanctioned by an attorney.

The registration of all the documents for the transfer or sale of the property will need the authorized signatures of all the sellers and buyers. This will be done alongside two witnesses. More than this, the people who signed will have to show their identity proof such as Aadhar card, Pan card etc. It is also mandatory to present the property card, the original documents and the payment proof for stamp duty during the transfer or sale of the immovable property.

The state Government during the 2001 Amendment stated that the physical custody of the records with respect to the registrations in any districts will be changed to the form of electronic records for easy accessing. Hence, many states will look for a e – copy of the deed rather than the physical copy.

If the date of operation is not mentioned then it will be assumed that the date starts from the date of execution. Hence, the date of registration has no stance or significance on the application of the instrument.

Registering for an Immovable property can become tedious at times even for citizens residing in India let alone for people living outside India. Therefore, it is highly advised to hire the best property lawyers who will take care of all the procedures, paperwork and can do this all without any hassle or difficulty. For expert opinion and help with respect to registering of property by any non – resident please contact Adv. Bindu Dubey. She is one of the finest NRI Legal service provider in Mumbai who can handle the case for the client with ease and get it done within no time.