Module 2 of 4 — Power of Attorney — Drafting & Execution

Registration Requirements and Admissibility

Reading module · approx 13 min

Registration of a Power of Attorney is required in specific circumstances under the Registration Act, 1908. An unregistered PoA that ought to have been registered may be inadmissible in evidence or unenforceable for its intended purpose.

When registration is mandatory

Under Section 17 of the Registration Act, the following PoAs must be registered:

A PoA to sell immovable property of value Rs. 100 or more (in practice, all real estate transactions)
A PoA to lease immovable property for a period exceeding one year
A PoA to receive or pay rent for immovable property exceeding one year in duration
Any PoA that itself operates to create, transfer, or extinguish an interest in immovable property

When registration is optional

PoAs for other purposes — banking operations, contract execution, court appearances, general business management not involving immovable property — are not mandatorily registrable but may be registered voluntarily. Voluntary registration provides evidentiary benefits and a public record of the authority.

Registration procedure

Registration is done at the office of the Sub-Registrar in whose jurisdiction the property (for property PoAs) or the parties (for other PoAs) are located. Procedure:

Preparation of the PoA on stamp paper of the applicable value
Submission by the executant (the principal)
Attestation by two witnesses
Personal appearance of the executant before the Sub-Registrar with identity and address proof
Payment of registration fees (typically 1% with a state-specific maximum)

Execution outside India

A PoA executed outside India by an NRI or foreign national must be:

Executed before and attested by the Indian Embassy, High Commission, or Consulate; OR
Executed before a notary in the foreign country and apostilled/legalised for use in India

On arrival in India, the PoA must be presented for registration within 4 months (extendable in some circumstances).

The 4-month presentation window A PoA executed abroad must be presented for registration in India within 4 months of arrival (Section 26, Registration Act). This is a common oversight — NRIs often execute PoAs abroad and let them sit unregistered for years, then find that when they try to use it for a property transaction, it is inadmissible. Register the PoA on arrival.

Consequences of non-registration

An unregistered PoA that ought to have been registered:

Is inadmissible as evidence of the authority granted (Section 49, Registration Act)
Cannot be relied on to transfer immovable property
Cannot be used to complete transactions before the sub-registrar
May still be admissible for limited collateral purposes not involving the primary intended purpose

Module 3 covers stamp duty on PoAs.