Table of Contents

Chapter 1- The Registration Act 1908

Statement of objects ...............................................................................................................................2
Documents of which registration is compulsory: Section 17 .................................................................3
Section 17 & Section 53-A Of Transfer Of Property Act 1882 .............................................................5
Documents of which registration is optional: Section 18 ......................................................................6
Description of property and maps or plans: Section 21 .........................................................................7
Time for presenting documents: Section 23 ..........................................................................................7
Place for registering documents relating to land : Section 28 ...............................................................8
Effect of non-registration of documents required to be registered: Section 49 .....................................8

Chapter 2 Stamp Duty 1889

Stamp Duty ...........................................................................................................................................10
Different types of Stamps .....................................................................................................................10
Stamp duty, when payable ....................................................................................................................11
Penalty for the delayed payment of stamp duty ....................................................................................11
Stamp duty, by whom payable- Section 29 ...........................................................................................11
Adjudication as to Stamps- Section 31 .................................................................................................11
Certificate for proper Stamp- Section 32 ..............................................................................................12
Penalty for executing, etc. instrument not duly stamped Section 62 ................................................13
Penalty for breach of rule relating to sale of stamps and for unauthorized sale Section 69 ..............14
Institution and conduct of prosecutions Section 70 ...........................................................................14
Jurisdiction of Magistrates - Section 71 ................................................................................................14
Powers to make rules relating to sale of stamps Section 74 ..............................................................15

CHAPTER 1

THE REGISTRATION ACT, 1908

Statement of objects
This is a pure consolidating Bill. The provisions relating to the registration of
documents are now scattered about in seven enactments. The objects of the
present Bill is to collect these provisions and to incorporate them in one Act.
this will make the law more easily ascertainable. It will further clear the Statute
book of three entire Acts and will enable two more Acts to be entirely removed
from it on the coming into force of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and of
the Indian Limitation Bill, now before Council.
The fact that the General Clauses Act, 1857, will apply to the bill when passed
has rendered it unnecessary to retain some provisions of the present Acts. The
opportunity has been taken to incorporate alterations of the formal character
intended merely to improve and simplify the language of the existing Act. The
numbering of the sections of the Act of 1877, has been preserved.
It has been found that he mere process of consolidation might result in the law
being changed in some respects. to avoid this some few amendments appear to
be necessary.

Documents of which registration is compulsory: Section

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(1)The following documents shall be registered, if the property to which they
relate is situate in a district in which, and if they have been executed on or after
the date on which, Act No. XVI of 1864, or the Indian Registration Act, 1866,
or the Indian Registration Act, 1871, or the Indian Registration Act, 1877 or this
Act came or comes into force, namely:
(a) instruments of gift of immovable property
(b) other non-testamentary instruments which purport or operate to create,
declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right,
title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one hundred
rupees, and upwards, to or in immovable property
(c) non-testamentary instruments which acknowledge the receipt or payment of
any consideration on account of the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation
or extinction of any such right, title or interest
(d) leases of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding
one year, or reserving a yearly rent
(e) non-testamentary instruments transferring or assigning any decree or order
of a court or any award when such decree or order or award purports or operates
to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future,
any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one
hundred rupees and upwards, to or in immovable property:
PROVIDED that the State Government may, by order published in the Official
Gazette, exempt from the operation of this sub-section any leases executed in
any district, or part of a district, the terms granted by which do not exceed five
years and the annual rent reserved by which do not exceed fifty rupees.
(2) Nothing in clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) applies to(i) any composition-deed; or

(ii) any instrument relating to shares in a joint STOCK Company,

notwithstanding that the assets of such company consist in whole or in part of
immovable property; or
(iii) any debenture issued by any such company and not creating, declaring,
assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right, title or interest, to or in
immovable property except insofar as it entitles the holder to the security
afforded by a registered instrument whereby the company has mortgaged,
conveyed or otherwise transferred the whole or part of its immovable property
or any interest therein to trustees upon trust for the benefit of the holders of such
debentures; or
(iv) any endorsement upon or transfer of any debenture issued by any such
company; or
(v) any document not itself creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or
extinguishing any right, title or interest of the value of one hundred rupees and
upwards to or in immovable property, but merely creating a right to obtain
another document which will, when executed, create, declare, assign, limit or
extinguish any such right, title or interest; or
(vi) any decree or order of a court 13(except a decree or order expressed to be
made on a compromise and comprising immovable property other than that
which is the subject-matter of the suit or proceeding;) or
(vii) any grant of immovable property by government; or
(viii) any instrument of partition made by a revenue-officer; or
(ix) any order granting a loan or instrument of collateral security granted under
the Land Improvement Act, 1871, or the Land Improvement Loans Act, 1883;
or
(x) any order granting a loan under the Agriculturists Loans Act, 1884, or
instrument for securing the repayment of a loan made under that Act; or
(xa) any order made under the Charitable Endowments Act, 1890, (6 of 1890)
vesting any property in a Treasurer of Charitable Endowments or divesting any
such treasurer of any property; or
(xi) any endorsement on a mortgage-deed acknowledging the payment of the
whole or any part of the mortgage-MONEY, and any other receipt for payment
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of MONEY due under a mortgage when the receipt does not purport to
extinguish the mortgage; or
(xii) any certificate of sale granted to the purchaser of any property sold by
public auction by a civil or revenue-officer.
3) Authorities to adopt a son, executed after the 1st day of January, 1872, and
not conferred by a will, shall also be registered.

Section 17 & Section 53-A Of Transfer Of Property Act

1882
The combined effect of section 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act 1908 and
section 17 of the Indian Registration Act is that an incomplete deed of transfer,
though not registered or even attested, is regarded, as a contract in writing but
such a deed must have been signed by the transferor or his agent. An
unregistered document affecting immoveable property, required by the Transfer
of Property Act 1882 or the Registration Act 1908 to be registered, may be
received in evidence of a contract in the suit for the specific performance or as
evidence of part-performance of a contract for the purpose of section 53-A or as
evidence of any collateral transaction not required by a registered instrument.
Where the parties execute an unregistered sale deed without prior permission of
the competent authority, the transaction will be void and this section will not be
applicable. In cases, where land is transferred in lieu of dower and the bride was
put in possession of it and a kabulnama was executed which was unregistered
evidencing the transfer, it was held that section 53-A of the Transfer of Property
Act 1882 would apply to such a case and a suit by the father in law and a
declaration of title and possession will fall.

In Haji Mokshed Mondal & Ors. Vs. Del Rouson Bibi & Anr. (AIR 1971 Cal), it
was held that section 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act 1882 precludes from
enforcing any rights in respect of the disputed property inconsistent with or not
mentioned in the said contract and therefore, the suit was dismissed.

In Narandas Karsondas vs. S.A. Kantam & Anr. (AIR 1977 SC 774), it was held
that the mortgagor has a right to redeem unless the sale of the property was
complete by registration in accordance with the provisions of the Registration
Act 1908, and therefore, the appeal was dismissed.
Documents of which registration is optional: Section 18
Any of the following documents may be registered under this Act, namely,(a) instruments (other than instruments of gifts and wills) which purport or
operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in
future, any right, title or interest whether vested or contingent, of a value less
than one hundred rupees, to or in immovable property
(b) instruments acknowledging the receipt of payment of any consideration on
account of the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinction of any
such right, title or interest
Leases of immovable property for any term not exceeding one year, and leases
exempted under section 17.
(c) instruments transferring or assigning any decree or order of a Court or any
award when such decree or order or award purports or operates to create,
declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right,
title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of a value less than one hundred
rupees, to or in immovable property
(d) instruments (other than wills) which purport or operate to create, declare,
assign, limit or extinguish any right, title or interest to or in movable Property;
(e) wills
(f) all other documents not required by section 17 to be registered.

Description of property and maps or plans:

Section 21
(l) No non-testamentary document relating to immovable property shall be
accepted for registration unless it contains a description of such property
sufficient to identify the same.
(2) Houses in towns shall be described as situate on the north or other side of
the street or road (which should be specified) to which they front, and by their
existing and former occupancies, and by their numbers if the houses in such
street or road are numbered.
(3) Other houses and lands shall be described by their name, if any, and as being
in the territorial division in which they are situate, and by their superficial
contents, the roads and other properties on to which they abut, and their existing
occupancies, and also whenever it is practicable, by reference to a Government
map or survey.
(4) No non-testamentary document containing a map or plan of any property
comprised therein shall be accepted for registration unless it is accompanied by
a true copy of the map or plan, or, in case such property is situate in several
districts, by such number of true copies of the map or plan as are equal to the
number of such districts.

Time for presenting documents: Section 23

Subject to the provision contained in section 24,25 and 26, no document other
than a will shall be accepted for registration unless presented for that purpose to
the proper officer within four months from the date of its execution.

Probability that a copy of a decree or order may be presented within four

months from the date on which the decree or order was made, or, where it is
appealable, within from the day on which it becomes final.

Place for registering documents relating to land : Section 28

Save as in this Part otherwise provided, every document mentioned in section
17, sub-section (1), clauses (a), (b), (c) ,(d) and (e), section 17, sub-section (2),
insofar as such document affects immovable property,] and section 18, clauses
(a), (b) and (c), shall be presented for registration in the office of a SubRegistrar within whose sub-district the whole or some portion of the property to
which such document relates is situate.

Effect of non-registration of documents required to be registered:

Section 49
No document required by section 17 or by any provision of the Transfer of
Property Act, 1882, to be registered shall(a) affect any immovable property comprised therein, or
(b) confer any power to adopt, or
(c) be received as evidence of any transaction affecting such property or
conferring such power, unless it has been registered:
Provided that an unregistered document affecting immovable property and
required by this Act, or the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, to be registered may
be received as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance under
Chapter II of the Specific Relief Act, 1877, or as evidence of any collateral
transaction not required to be effected by registered instrument.
An un-registered document may be admitted as evidence of collateral facts or of
any correlated purpose other than creating, declaring, assessing, or
extinguishing immoveable property.

Section 49 of Registration Act does say that an un-registered document which is

required to be registered shall not be received in evidence. The only bar is that
such a document cannot be received as a evidence of any transaction affecting
the property.
This means that an un-registered document will not be able to create, declare,
assign, limit or extinguish any right, title or interest in or to the immoveable
property or compromised in any document.

CHAPTER 2

STAMP DUTY 1889

Stamp Duty
Stamp Duty is a tax, similar to sales tax (VAT) and income tax collected by the
government. Stamp Duty is payable under Section 3 of The Bombay Stamp Act,
1958. Different amount of Stamp Duty is payable for different types of
document as per ScheduleI of The Bombay Stamp Act, 1958. Stamp Duty
must be paid in full and on time. If there is a delay in payment of stamp duty, it
attracts penalty. A stamp duty paid document is considered a proper and legal
document and as such gets evidentiary value and is admitted as evidence in
court. Document not properly stamped, is not admitted as evidence by the court.

Different types of stamps

There are different types of stamps under stamp act having different uses.
1. Share Transfer Stamps
2. Insurance Stamps
3. Notarial Stamps
4. Revenue Stamps
5. Court Fee Stamps
6. Special Adhesive Stamps
7. Non Judicial Stamp Paper
8. Court Fees Stamp Paper
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9. Franking of Stamp Duty

10. Adjudication Certificate

Stamp duty, when payable

Stamp duty is payable either before execution of the document or on the day of
execution of document or on the next working day of executing such a
document. Execution of a document means putting signatures on the document
by the persons who are party to the document. However it is advisable to pay
stamp duty before executing the document, for all practical purposes.

Penalty for the delayed payment of stamp duty

If stamp duty is not paid on time, it attracts penalty at the rate of 2% per month
on the deficit amount of the stamp duty. However maximum penalty can be only
200% of the deficit amount of the stamp duty. Minimum penalty is Rs.100.
Documents lodged with the sub-registrar/Collector of stamps prior to any
amnesty scheme will attract a reduced penalty, as applicable under that amnesty
scheme, as the case may be.

Stamp duty, by whom payable- Section 29

In the absence of any agreement to the contrary, the purchaser/transferee has to
pay stamp duty or in case of exchange of properties, both parties have to bear
stamp duty equally.

Adjudication as to Stamps- Section 31

(1) When any instrument, whether executed or not and whether previously
stamped or not, is brought to the Collector, and the person bringing it applies to
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have the opinion of that officer as to the duty (if any) with which it is
chargeable, and pays a fee of such amount (not exceeding five rupees and not
less than fifty paise) as the Collector may in each case direct, the Collector
shall determine the duty (if any) with which, in his judgment the instrument is
chargeable.
(2) For this purpose the Collector may require to be furnished with an abstract
of the instrument, and also with such affidavit or other evidence as he may deem
necessary to prove that all the facts and circumstances affecting the
chargeability of the instrument with duty, or the amount of the duty with which
it is chargeable, are fully and truly set forth therein, and may refuse to proceed
upon any such application until such abstract and evidence have been furnished
accordingly:
PROVIDED that(a) no evidence furnished in pursuance of this section shall be used against any
person in any civil proceeding, except in an enquiry as to the duty with which
the instrument to which it relates is chargeable; and
(b) every person by whom any such evidence is furnished, shall, on payment of
the full duty with which the instrument to which it relates, is chargeable, be
relieved from any penalty which he may have incurred under this Act by reason
of the omission to state truly in such instrument any of the facts or
circumstances aforesaid.

Certificate for proper Stamp- Section 32

(1) When an instrument brought to the Collector under section 31 is, in his
opinion, one of a description chargeable with duty; and
(a) the Collector determines that it is already fully stamped, or
(b) the duty determined by the Collector under section 31, or such a sum as,
with the duty already paid in respect of the instrument, is equal to the duty so
determined, has been paid, the Collector shall certify by endorsement on such
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instrument that the full duty (stating the amount) with which it is chargeable has
been paid.
(2) When such instrument is, in his opinion, not chargeable with duty, the
Collector shall certify in manner aforesaid that such instrument is not so
chargeable.
(3) Any instrument upon which an endorsement has been made under this
section, shall be deemed to be duly stamped or not chargeable with duty, as the
case may be; and, if chargeable with duty, shall be receivable in evidence or
otherwise, and may be acted upon and registered as if it had been originally
duly stamped:
PROVIDED that nothing in this section shall authorize the Collector to endorse(a) any instrument executed or first executed in India and brought to him after
the expiration of one month from the date of its execution or first execution, as
the case may be;
(b) any instrument executed or first executed out of India and brought to him
after the expiration of three months after it has been first received in 3[India]; or
(c) any instrument chargeable with a duty not exceeding ten paise, or any bill of
exchange or promissory note, when brought to him, after the drawing or
execution thereof, on paper not duly stamped.

Criminal Offences And Procedure

Penalty for executing, etc. instrument not duly stamped Section 62
(1) Any person(a) drawing, making, issuing, endorsing or transferring, or signing otherwise
than as a witness, or presenting for acceptance or payment, or accepting, paying
or receiving payment of or in any manner negotiating, any bill of exchange
payable otherwise than on demand or promissory note without the same being
duly stamped; or
(b) executing or signing otherwise than as a witness any other instrument
chargeable with duty without the same being duly stamped; or
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(c) voting or attempting to vote under any proxy not duly stamped, shall for
every such offence be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred
rupees:
PROVIDED that, when any penalty has been paid in respect of any instrument
under section 35, section 40 or section 61, the amount of such penalty shall be
allowed in the same instrument upon the person who paid such penalty.

(2) If a share warrant is issued without being duly stamped, the company issuing
the same, and also every person who, at the time when it is issued, is the
managing director or secretary or other principal officer of the company, shall
be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.

Penalty for breach of rule relating to sale of stamps and for

unauthorized sale Section 69
(a) Any person appointed to sell stamps who disobeys any rule made under
section 74, and
(b) Any person not so appointed who sells or offers for sale any stamp (other
than a ten paise or five paise adhesive stamp), shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which
may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.

Institution and conduct of prosecutions Section 70

(1) No prosecution in respect of any offence punishable under this Act or any
Act hereby repealed, shall be instituted without the sanction of the Collector or
such other the State Government generally, or the Collector specially,
authorizes in that behalf.
(2) The Chief Controlling Revenue-authority, or any officer generally or
specially authorized by it in this behalf, may stay any such prosecution or
compound any such offence.

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(3) The amount of any such composition shall be recoverable in the manner
provided by section 48.

Jurisdiction of Magistrates - Section 71

No magistrate other than a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate whose powers
are not less than those of a Magistrate of the second class, shall try any offence
under this Act.

Powers to make rules relating to sale of stamps Section 74

The State Government may make rules for regulating(a) the supply and sale of stamps and stamped papers,
(b) the persons by whom alone such sale is to be conducted, and
(c) the duties and remuneration of such persons:

PROVIDED that such rules shall not restrict the sale of ten paise or five paise
adhesive stamps.

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CONCLUSION

Unless the proper stamp duty is paid, the documents executed may expose the
Executants to huge penalty and also face the risk of court not accepting as
evidence. It is therefore important to check the relevant article in schedule 1-A
or 1 of the states to ensure that proper stamp duty is paid at the time of the
execution of instrument.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

dolr.nic.in
lawcommissionofindia.nic.in
www.advocatekhoj.com
www.slideshare.net
www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au
www.nirrtigo.com

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