• NRI co-owners of property in kochi using POA to sell on their behalf

Wondering if anyone can provide the correct advice as we are receiving conflicting information.
My wife and I co-own a flat in Kochi, Kerala. We live in the UK and cannot travel to India. We are appointing my mother as the power of attorney for the sale of our flat. I understand we need to prepare a special power of attorney and get it notarised in the indian embassy. My question is since my mother is the power of attorney and she is my blood relative, will I only have to pay a nominal stamp duty and registration charge? My mother is not my wife's blood relative so because we are co-owners, how does this work out? Am I charged for a nominal fee for half the value and my wife charged a much higher stamp duty for her proportion of ownership? Or does it not matter since she is my spouse and we both can appoint my mother as power of attorney without paying any extra stamp duty? Please help with the correct advice. Thanks, Venkatesh
Asked 3 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu

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17 Answers

1.  You can appoint individually your mother as the Attorney or Agent through POA, as you and your mother are blood relatives, to execute the sale deed in favour of the prospective buyer, on your behalf, in the jurisdictional Sub Registrar's Office.

2.  Similarly let your wife appoint individually either her father or mother or any of her siblings as the Attorney or Agent through POA, to execute the sale deed, on your wife's behalf, in the jurisdictional Sub Registrar's Office.

3.  As per above, the adjudication charges will be nominal for the two POAs, when once it's received in India, after countersigned by the official of the Indian Consulate abroad, as POA would have been executed between blood relatives.

4.  However if you are prepared to pay extra stamp duty towards adjudication charges, both of you can appoint your mother as Attorney or Agent through POA and for your share (1/2) of the property it will be charged nominal and for your wife's share ( other 1/2 ) in the property, it will be calculated based on the market rate of the property.

5.  To avoid paying extra stamp duty, please follow as stated in (1) and (2).

Shashidhar S. Sastry
Advocate, Bangalore
5463 Answers
330 Consultations

You can execute POA in favour of your mother 

 

similarly your wife can execute POA in favour of her parents or siblings 

 

3) if your wife appoints your mother as POA you have to pay higher stamp duty as she is not your wife blood relative 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
97642 Answers
7904 Consultations

There's no question of paying stamp duty for adjudication of Special POA Deed. 

You both may have to appoint two different power agents. 

The POA deeds executed in that country will be adjudicated in India by just paying a nominal registration fee of ₹ 200 only.

For selling the property,  the buyer only shall incur the stamp duty and not the seller. 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87844 Answers
2366 Consultations

As you have rightly indicated, let your wife appoint you as her Attorney or Agent through POA and based on the same you can physically present your self in the jurisdictional District/Sub Registrar's Office and execute the sale deed in favour of the prospective buyer of the property.

Shashidhar S. Sastry
Advocate, Bangalore
5463 Answers
330 Consultations

You will have to pay high stamp duties if special POA is not executed in favour of blood relative 

 

even if wife executes POA in your favour it would attract high stamp duty 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
97642 Answers
7904 Consultations

Dear sir,

A POA can be executed in favor of your mother for executing the sale deed in favour of the buyer. Your wife can also do the same in favour of her parents. In case POA is not executed in favor of blood relative higher stamp duty is to be paid.

Thank you 

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
10435 Answers
121 Consultations

The seller need not pay the stamp duty for selling the property,  you have been misinformed about it. 

Your wife can execute a POA in your favor to sell the property on her behalf too, provided you are not a NRI

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87844 Answers
2366 Consultations

Better your wife gives special power of attorney in favour of you for sale of property. Notarization of GPA is not equivalent to registration. The sale is illegal if the GPA is not registered.

You  have two options;

  1. Prepare a power of attorney on stamp paper worth Rs. 600 in Kochi and certify it at the UK Indian Consulate/Embassy and the same can be adjudicated in the District Registrar office at Ernakulam. OR
  2. Print the power of attorney on plain paper. There is no need to create it on stamp paper from India, provided certain conditions are met. The power of attorney must be signed. A witness should also sign this document. Make sure the applicant's and witnesses' addresses are clearly typed. All of this must be done in front of a notary public. The Indian Consulate can also process this for you. After the Indian Consulate/Embassy has attested your power of attorney, it can be sent to India. Adjudicate the same before the District Registrar.

The adjudication fee is probably less than 2000 rupees. It is not necessary for the seller to pay stamp duty for selling the property. The buyer will pay the stamp duty as per fair value fixed by Government

Ajay N S
Advocate, Ernakulam
4099 Answers
114 Consultations

There will be a nominal stamp duty and registration charges for the same to be registered as you are a blood relative

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
32962 Answers
211 Consultations

1) POA has to be attested before Indian consulate 

 

2) agreement for sale can be notarised 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
97642 Answers
7904 Consultations

Yes attestation in consulate and later registration in India. 

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
32962 Answers
211 Consultations

Dear sir,

you need to make attestation in the Indian consulate and also register the same in .

Thank you

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
10435 Answers
121 Consultations

Don't get confused by misinterpreting the law or by any rumours in this regard.

The notarised POA is sufficient, there is no necessity to get it attested by the official at the Indian embassy too besides notarisation.

The POA  duly notarized shall be enough for executing both the sale agreement as well as the sale deed. 

You need not have to prepare a fresh POA attested by official at Indian consulate/embassy for executing the sale deed.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87844 Answers
2366 Consultations

It is not possible to enter into an agreement for sale without getting power or authorization. JIf you and your wife do not have India for registration, a power of attorney is needed just before the sale. ask your document writer or advocate to prepare a POA and take print out and send by courier , after getting the same attest and re post to home address and same shall be adjudicate . 

Ajay N S
Advocate, Ernakulam
4099 Answers
114 Consultations

1. You are executing the POA only in favour of your mother and is not selling the property to her.

 

2. So, you are not required to pay any stamp duty for executing the said POA from UK.

 

3. You shall have to get the POA printed on a stamp paper duly signed by your mother and also your local lawyer in India identifying her signature  and thereafter you two shall have to append your signatures on the said POA before the appropriate officer of your local Indian Consulate who will attest your said signatures.

 

4. Thereafter you shall have to send the said POA executed in the UK in favour of your mother to your mother who, will get the said POA stamped by fixing a stamp of rs.50/- by the Indian Collector ( at that time he might ask to produce the envelope containing the said POA sent by you from the UK).

 

5. The process shall have to be completed within 90 days from the date of its execution.

 

6. Thereafter your mother can register a sale deed for and on  behalf of you two for which the buyer is expected to pay the stamp duty based on the valuye of the property proposed to be sold. 

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27533 Answers
726 Consultations

1. Neither you nor your wife are selling the property to your mother.

 

2. You both are executing the POA only in her favour and it can not be registered in India since you stay abroad.

 

3. You shall have to follow the steps given in my earlier post to get a valid POA issued in favour of your mother from UK duly attested by the officer of the India Consulate.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27533 Answers
726 Consultations

1. If you stay in UK then you can not legally get the POA notarised by a Notary Public in India since you are required to be present before the Notary Public while signing the document which he will notarise.

 

2. If you manage to get one such POA notarised in India while staying in the UK, it will be considered as invalid if proved later on since your passport will evidence that you were not present in India while notarising the said POA in India.

 

3. So, you are required to execute a  legally valid POA in favour of your mother they it has been suggested in my earlier posts, before she executes ant agreement/document/deed for and on your behalf in connection with the said property.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27533 Answers
726 Consultations

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