Kerala Real Estate Information

Saturday, March 1, 2008

NRI Land Registration Procedures

The ever changing rules and regulations on land registration, often confuses NRIs. One of the most common issue is the lack of information about how to buy / sell land without being physically present in Kerala. A regulation change, last year, made it a requirement for the buyer and seller to be present at the registration office for the transaction and affix photo and finger print.

According to some web sites "the NRIs could send the power to his family members or others to get the document registered in their name through a power of attorney , this power attonamy stamp charge is normal for to direct blood relative and for others stamp charge is high, in this case also buyer and seller must produce their thump impression and photo at the time of registration, it can be sent through email or fax "

Following is the information I received from a NRI friend who went through a registration(BUY) last month. A power of attorney was not required for a purchase. In this case NRI was a buyer. To be able to sell , I think it requires to have a power of attorney towards the representative in Kerala, apart from following documents.

NRI buying land without personally appearing

Step 1: Find the fair value / thara vila for the property. Mostly any adhahram ezhuthu vendor or the broker can find this information for you. Your registration price must be above this value.

Step 2: Buy Stamp Duty Paper / Mudra Pathram for the registration price. Stamp paper could be bought from adhahram ezhuthu vendors or local govt treasury.

Step 3: Mail One Stamp Duty Paper (of the highest value is preferred, if there are multiple) to the NRI who is involved.
Step 4: NRI need to paste a PASSPORT SIZE PHOTO on the Stamp Duty Paper and place the LEFT THUMP IMPRESSION (left thump finger print) on the appropriate place. THUMP IMPRESSION must be overlapping the photo and stamp paper.

The sellers photo must be pasted immediately after the logo on the stamp paper
The buyers photo must be pasted immediately after the sellers photo.




Step 5: Attach attested/notarized copies of identity and address proof and documents to prove the NRI status. Identity proof can be passport first page. Foreign Address proof can be employment letter and NRI status proof could be copy of visa. Caution : Double check with the local registration office , what documents do they accept.

Step 6: The NRIs representative can be present with the above stamp paper and documents to execute the registration

There are some details here as well. Kerala govt exemptsNRIs

Though this is from a real experiance, to avoid troubles, It is advisable to double check the process directly with someone in the specific registration office in advance.

There is a risk involved in sending a blank stamp paper(the details are written usualy at the time of registration) with finger print. Some else getting hold of it might cause big troubles and long legal battle. I think the initial rule (requirement for physical presence) was made without enough thinking and later they bend it to accommodate NRIs.

Also it is possible to find this information from a ‘ADHARAM EZHUTHU’ (vendor) agency/individual who has experiance with the specific registration office where the transaction will be registered.

3 comments:

Thomas George said...

My point is the following:

The purpose of the thumb impression, and appearing in person was intended as an identification measure. Being able to bring a stamp paper that already bears a photo and thumb impression defeats this purpose. How does the SRO verify that the thumb impression belongs to the person in the photo?

There is a time-honored legally accepted method -- the Power Of Attorney. If the buyer/seller appoints another person authorizing him to perform the land transaction on his behalf, that makes it a better solution. The PoA is granted with appropriate identification measures. The SRO must still check the identity of the attorney (representative) using legally accepted proof of identity documents.

Kerala NRI said...

Thanks for the comment.

Neither I have understood what they intend by requiring NRI to send a stamp paper with photo and finger print. Also , there is a risk involved in sending a blank stamp paper(the transaction is usualy written at the time of registration) with finger print. Some else getting hold of it might cause big troubles and long legal battle. I think the initial rule (requirement for physical presence) was made without enough thinking and later they bend it to accommodate NRIs.

Power Of Attorney used to be requirement for selling even before the rule change.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I am Indian national and my wife is a foreigner (and holder of PIO card) and we both are living in Europe. In 2007, we bought a property (50cents) which was registered on my name and wife’s name. There is this law states that PIO card holder may not buy agricultural/plantation land in India. In our case, on the original document (original patta/yam), this land has been categorized as agricultural land which we didn’t pay any attention. Now the village/taluk officials are not accepting the tax and not willing to issue mutation certificate. Without this we cannot do anything in the land. We cannot apply for electricity or water or build house, etc.

My questions are:
1) How can we change the registration into my name ? What is the procedure ?
2) If we wish to sell this property, what will be the procedure then ?
3) If we don’t do any of the above, what kind of problems we may encounter from the State government, if we leave the land without paying tax and mutation certificate ?

I hope somebody can give us some tips, useful info and guidance.

Many thanks in advance.