According to Section 17 of Registration Act, 1908, all the transactions that involve the sale of an immovable property more than Rs 100 should be mandatorily registered. The properties that are given as a gift or are held out for lease for more than 12 months must be registered as well.
If any of the party involved in the transaction cannot come to the sub- registrar’s office, the sub-registrar may send one of its officers to accept the documents of registration at the residence of the person.
What is the procedure for property registration?
The property documents that are required to be registered must be submitted to the office of the sub-registrar within the jurisdiction where the property is situated. If the buyer or the seller is not present, then their authorized signatories for them must be present with two witnesses at the time of registration.
The signatories should carry their proof of ID which can either be Aadhaar Card, PAN card or any other government-issued ID. The signatories should also furnish their power of authority if they are representing anyone else. If one of the parties involved is a company, then the person representing the company must carry the necessary documents like power of attorney for the authority to sign, a copy of the resolution from the company’s board authorizing him to be the signatory.
You will have to present the property card to the sub-registrar, along with the original documents and proof of payment of stamp duty. Before registering the document, the sub-registrar will verify whether adequate stamp duty has been paid or not. If there is an error in the document or the stamp duty paid, then the sub-registrar will refuse to sign the document.
Time limit for the registration and fees involved
The document must be registered and presented to the sub-registrar within four months from the date of execution along with the applied fees. If the time limit has expired then you can request the sub-registrar for the condonation for the delay and ask for the extension for another four months. It depends on the sub-registrar to decide if he wants to agree to it or not.
The registration fees are capped at 1 percent across the country subjected to a maximum of Rs 30,000.
Earlier, the documents you presented for registration would take six months to be returned to you. However, with the computerization, the documents are returned to the new owner the same day after scanning.
What if the buyer fails to register the property?
Not registering the property can land the buyer in hot water as the property without registration is not admissible as evidence in the court of law.