For those staying outside India (NRI or Non-Resident Indian) and having properties or non-property transactions in India, they need a special legal provision called as POA (Power of Attorney). Also, if an NRI cannot come multiple times to India to complete his transactions, the POA becomes useful.
In such a situation, one needs to entrust someone to do such transactions on one’s behalf. For this, one needs to create a GPA (General Power of Attorney) deed in favour of a trustworthy and sincere person in India. One need not come to India to create the GPA deed. One can do it from whichever country one is living in. A SPA (Special Power of Attorney) can be created with regard to a single transaction or property. Both GPA and SPA are part of making POA or Power Of Attorney in India.
How to Make POA
In case, one is living outside India and have financial or property transactions inside India; one can provide the power to transact and deal with tax payments, banking and properties to any reliable and trustworthy person in India, referred to as Attorney. An attorney can be a close relative or friend.
The process of POA (Power of Attorney in India) involves the following steps:
- Draft the POA deal online or hire a lawyer in India to draft it.
- Get the deed attested by Indian embassy or consulate in the country of residence. It can also be attested by any notary from there.
- The grantor or person making the deed should sign the deed in all pages.
- The attested deed should be sent by courier or registered post to a known person in India.
- The person, to whom the deed is sent, should get it registered from the local Sub-Registrar Office or Sub-Divisional Magistrate Office in India, by paying suitable charges for registration, applicable in the state.
GPA vs. SPA
If one wishes to make a POA, one must first know whether the power to be given to the attorney is for general purpose or a specific or particular purpose.
In case, one wishes to give all the rights for all one’s properties or all the rights for one property or all rights of banking transactions; one should create a GPA. Of course, property rights must adhere to property inheritance law in India.
However, if one wishes to grant the POA for any specific act or transaction and the power ceases after completion of that transaction, a SPA becomes useful. SPA is thus a special kind of POA in which power is given only for a single act or task. You can find resources to help you with GPA and SPA through online legal services.
Inclusions in the POA deed
While creating GPA deed from outside India, make sure that your deed contains the following:
- Details of Grantor: The Indian address, the foreign address, occupation, age and name of the person making the deed must be mentioned first.
- Details of Attorney: The occupation, father’s name, address, age and name of the person in whose name and favour, the deed has been made must be mentioned.
- Reason for POA: The NRI must state why he needs to make the deed and serve what purpose. For instance, it could be to buy or sell or rent out properties in India while you are staying abroad.
- Date of start: One must clearly mention at what date the POA will come into force.
- Signature: The grantor has to sign all the pages and on the last page.
Process to Make POA Legally Valid
One must complete the following formalities to make the POA created from any foreign country as legally valid:
- The deed has to be made on plain paper and attested by Indian embassy or notary residing in a foreign country.
- The grantor must plant his signature on all the pages of the deed.
- The deed must be sent by courier or registered post to an Indian address, to a known person.
- The person to whom the deed is sent should get the deed registered in the sub-registrar office in the area where the property is located or place of residence.
Points to Be Noted
- The person making the deed must be of sound mind. A mentally unsound person is not allowed to make a POA.
- The NRI making the deed must provide proof of residential address in a foreign country.
- The deed must comply with Property Inheritance Law in India.
- The deed has to be sent to India to a known person who is mentally capable of getting it enforced and registered.
- An NRI must never give the powers to transact with his property to an untrustworthy person. The latter may abuse his powers and create a problem for the grantor. Because granting powers to the attorney implies that whatever he or she does is binding on the grantor, nothing he or she does can be undone within the scope of powers granted.
These are all facts and aspects related to Power Of Attorney for NRIs.
