Land registration process becomes crucial for the buyers. After the execution of rules of RERA and GST in India this year, real estate sector has seen a remarkable metamorphosis for both buyers and realtors. This time, rules of RERA make home buyers the king, ensuring that consumers are not misled.

Home buying in India is most sentimental to people as it calls for all their savings. Land is the most valuable asset of any individual or business. Your real estate purchase is incomplete without ‘registry.’ Only after you get the papers in hand signed and stamped by the legal, government authorities, you become the owner. The registration documents are a proof of your land ownership and protection against encroachment.

To identify your landholdings and maintain your title deeds for the property you’ve bought or plan to purchase in India, here’s a rundown of the land registration process that tells you about the important registration documents, registration fees and registration act. Don’t miss out on any of these ownership details.

Registration procedure and documents required

The land registration process in India is governed by ‘Section 17’ under the Registration Act, 1908, applicable to whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It guarantees buyers the title of the immovable property that is valued over Rs. 100.

• The property/land documents need to be submitted to the Sub-Registrar of Assurances within whose jurisdiction the property is located. For registration of the documents, the authorized signatures of seller and buyer need to be presented along with two witnesses.
• A proof of payment of stamp duty should also be presented to the sub-registrar along with the property card.
• The signatories should carry along a proof of identity with them for the land registration procedure.
• The documents that are to be taken as identity proof and are accepted for the purpose in India include Aadhar Card, PAN Card or any other proof of identity issue by the government of India.
• In case a real estate company is part of the property agreement, the person representing the company needs to carry authorized, related registration documents like the letter of authority or power of attorney based on the stamp act and registration act.
• In any case, if there is a deficit in the stamp duty , the sub-registrar has all the rights to reject your registration procedure and registration documents.

Land registration fees in India

Typically, registration fees and stamp duty are not same in all states of India. It ranges from 0.5-3% of the value of the property. This is subjected to a maximum of certain value or the % charged, whichever is less. For instance, in the eastern states of Meghalaya, Manipur, the registration fees is 1% of the property value subject to a maximum of Rs. 30,000. So, if you buy a land of Rs. 45 lakhs, instead of paying that 1% which calculates to Rs. 45,000, you need to pay the maximum value of Rs. 30,000 as the registration fees. This price varies when you live in Bihar as the land/property registration fees is 2% of the property value.

Similarly, the stamp duty is established on the agreement value or the market value and may vary from property to property and state to state.

If the purchaser happens to be a female, there is a rebate given in the registration fees and stamp duty charges.

Timeline for land registration procedure in India

• Documents that are compulsory to be presented to the sub-registrar should be submitted within four months from the date of execution.
• If by any chance, you fail to submit within the timeline, you need to present an application to the sub-registrar stating a solid reason for the delay. The registrar may accept your delay in application and will allow you to take the registration process further on a payment of fine that is ten times the original registration fee.
• In case the document is executed abroad, it ought to be registered within four months of its arrival in India.

Online registration process of land in India

The property registration procedure in India is no more burdensome with the introduction of computerized/online property registration systems. They have rather removed the middlemen from the process and led to more transparent valuation. Now, you can pay initial duties like stamp duty via online mediums and the related property registration forms can be download online. However, you still can’t do away without going to the sub-registrar office for completing the formalities against registration fees and submission of registration documents.