Property registration and stamp duty

Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 lists documents that must be registered. They include gifts of immovable property, documents that create, transfer or end rights in immovable property (such as sale deeds), receipts for payment for such rights, leases from year to year or for more than a year, and documents transferring a court decree or order affecting immovable property. Agreements to sell that are relied on for "part performance" under section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act also need to be registered (section 17(1A)). States can add to this list for their own territory.

A document other than a will must be presented within four months of the date it was signed (section 23). If the delay is due to urgent necessity or an unavoidable accident and is not more than another four months, the Registrar can accept it on payment of a fine of up to ten times the registration fee (section 25). Under section 49, an unregistered document that should have been registered does not affect the property. But it can still be used as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance, as evidence of part performance, or as evidence of a collateral transaction that did not need registration.

Stamp duty is charged under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as it applies in each state, or under a state's own stamp law. Each state sets its own rates. A document that is not duly stamped generally cannot be admitted in evidence until the duty and a penalty are paid. The Supreme Court has held that an unstamped or under-stamped document is inadmissible, but not void, and the defect is curable. Promissory notes are treated differently; see the guide on loans backed by a promissory note.

Registration also does not guarantee ownership. The Supreme Court has held that a registered sale deed does not create good title if the seller's own title was defective.

1. Sub-Registrar's office. Where documents are registered and stamp duty and fees are checked. Many states now allow documents to be prepared and registration to be booked online.
2. State registration portal. For stamp duty and fee details, guideline (market) values, e-payment and appointments.
3. District Registrar or Collector of Stamps. For disputes about undervaluation, deficit stamp duty or refunds under the state's stamp law.
4. An advocate or document writer. People often use one to draft and check the document before registration.