Overview

"The process of transferring title in India can be quite cumbersome especially if the paperwork is not in order as it will involve several court matters,"

Propertified provides legal services for Non Resident Indians (NRIs.) for transferring their properties. As per legal requirement, a Will is not required to be registered. It can just be written on a plain piece of paper. However, registration makes it a valid document that can be presented in the court.

In the absence of a Will, the heirs would need to obtain a Succession certificate from the court. The heirs will have to submit various documents such as death certificate of the deceased, the birth certificate of the heirs, copy of the ration card, bank statement of the heirs etc. These documents are needed to prove that the heirs are indeed the rightful successors.

Original purchase deed of property and registration documents In case of old properties, the original purchase deed may not be available. In such cases, you would need to procure certified copies of the title deed from the jurisdictional registrar's office.

The Encumbrance Certificate records and reflects all the transactions occurred in respect of an immovable property be it a sale, lease, mortgage, gift, partition, release, etc.

Khata is a record that shows the entry of the property owners details in the records of the Corporation/Municipality. It contains details such as name of property owner, type of property, property taxes paid/ payable etc. It is basically an evidence of who owns and possesses the property concerned.

How is Khata different from the property registration? The registration document shows the purchase or sale of the property from one owner to another with various rights thereon, whereas the Khata shows the annual property taxes paid. Ideally, when registration of a property changes, automatically the Khata should also be changed in the municipal records. Unfortunately, that automatic process does not happen and Khata must be transferred separately.

Transfer of title can be done through mutation of revenue records/ transfer of Khata. Mutation of revenue records means updating the details of new owner of the property in the books of the respective development authority, that is, either the municipal corporation or the village panchayat.

In order to do this, you must submit all the documents mentioned above to the authority.

While the transfer must be effected locally, that is, within India and within the same jurisdiction where the immovable property is situated, it can be executed by an NRI using a Power of Attorney (PoA). For the succession certificate too, the NRI can have someone represent him/her through the PoA.

Transfer of title can be done through mutation of revenue records/ transfer of Khata. Mutation of revenue records means updating the details of new owner of the property in the books of the respective development authority, that is, either the municipal corporation or the village panchayat.

The NRI can issue a PoA in favor of a local representative, authorizing such person to do certain specified and incidental acts/deeds and things. Such PoA should be duly notarized by an attorney in the country of the NRI's residence followed by attestation at the nearest Indian consulate in that country. This must be handled by the NRI in his country of residence.

Next, the PoA needs to be registered in India (via adjudication process) by paying requisite fees/stamp duty to the Department of Stamps and Registration. This can be handled by the PoA holder."

Name : Pulkit Prakash

Law Firm Name : Niti Bodh

Country : India

City : East Delhi

State : DELHI