NRI power of attorney for property: attestation abroad, stamping and registration in India

Rules and rates as of 21 October 2026.

Many NRIs who buy or sell a flat in India never face the sub-registrar. A parent, sibling or friend does it for them, armed with a power of attorney signed abroad. Whether that document works on the day depends on three things: who witnessed and authenticated it abroad, whether it was stamped in India in time, and what the attorney is actually going to do with it. Here is the law on each, and a 2026 ruling that changes the paperwork in one state.

Our earlier explainers cover the FEMA rules for NRI purchases, tax deduction when an NRI sells, and why a "GPA sale" does not pass title. This one is only about the power of attorney itself.

What a power of attorney lets your attorney do

The Powers-of-Attorney Act, 1882 is a short law. Section 1A defines a power of attorney as "any instrument empowering a specified person to act for and in the name of the person executing it". Three other sections matter to a buyer or seller:

• Section 2: the attorney (the "donee") may sign in his or her own name, by the authority of the donor, and the document is "as effectual in law" as if you had signed it yourself.
• Section 3: a person who pays money or acts in good faith under the power is protected even if, before that, the donor had died, become of unsound mind, become insolvent or revoked the power, as long as the person did not know. If you revoke a power, tell the buyer, the bank and the sub-registrar in writing.
• Section 4: the original can be deposited in the High Court or District Court, with an affidavit verifying execution, and certified copies issued from there.

A power of attorney is not a sale. The Supreme Court's Suraj Lamps ruling, covered in our GPA explainer, held that a sale cannot be made through a power of attorney bundle. The attorney can sign a registered sale deed on your behalf; the power itself conveys nothing.

Signing it abroad: section 33 of the Registration Act

Section 32 of the Registration Act, 1908 lists who may present a document for registration: a person executing or claiming under it, that person's representative or assign, or an agent "duly authorised by power-of-attorney executed and authenticated in manner hereinafter mentioned".

Section 33(1) then says only certain powers of attorney "shall alone be recognised" for that purpose. If the principal lives where the Act is in force, the power must be executed before and authenticated by the Registrar or Sub-Registrar of the area. If the principal "does not reside in India", clause (c) allows the power to be executed before and authenticated by a Notary Public, any court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or a representative of the Central Government. Section 33(4) says such a power can be proved by producing it, without further proof, when it shows on its face that it was executed before one of those authorities.

In practice NRIs use one of two routes:

• Indian mission. The Consulate General of India, Birmingham says the applicant must visit in person and sign before the Consular Officer, with the original passport, proof of UK residence and visa status, a passport-size photo on the last page, and two UK-based witnesses who are not beneficiaries. It charges £17 per signature and stamp of the Consular Officer, takes two working days, and accepts the document on plain or stamp paper. Other missions differ: the Embassy in The Hague lists a €19 fee plus a €2 community welfare contribution. Check your own mission's page.
• Local notary plus apostille. The Ministry of External Affairs says India has been a member of the Hague Apostille Convention since 2005 and that no further attestation or legalisation is needed in India for a document apostilled by a member country. Sub-registrars and banks can still have their own checklists, so ask the office that will receive it before you choose this route.

Stamping it after it arrives

A power signed abroad still has to bear Indian stamp duty, and that duty is set by the state where the property is. The Telangana Registration and Stamps Department FAQ says duty on a document executed outside India can be paid within three months from the date it is received in India, endorsed by the District Registrar under section 18 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. The same page gives 1% of the property value as the duty for a power of attorney to a non-family member (noting it is "subject to change from time to time"), and a penalty for documents not duly stamped of a minimum of ₹5 or up to ten times the deficit duty. It does not give the family rate.

Other states have their own rates and concessions for powers given to close relatives. Keep the arrival date provable (courier receipt, passport entry stamp) because the three-month clock starts there.

Worked example: a Hyderabad flat sold through a friend

Assume an NRI living in Birmingham wants a friend in Hyderabad to sign the sale deed for a flat with a market value of ₹90 lakh. The power is signed at the consulate and reaches India on 20 November 2026. The figures use the Telangana FAQ rate above; the editor should confirm it is current.

• Stamp duty on the power: ₹90,00,000 × 1% = ₹90,000, payable within three months of 20 November 2026, that is by 20 February 2027.
• If it is not stamped and is later impounded, the penalty can go up to 10 × ₹90,000 = ₹9,00,000, on top of the duty. Worst case: ₹90,000 + ₹9,00,000 = ₹9,90,000.
• Registration clock for the sale deed: section 23 allows four months from execution. If the friend signs the deed on 15 January 2027, it must be presented by 15 May 2027.

Item	Amount or date
Consular attestation (Birmingham, one signature)	£17
Stamp duty on the power, paid in time (1% of ₹90 lakh)	₹90,000
Maximum penalty if impounded (10 × deficit)	₹9,00,000
Last day to stamp (3 months from arrival)	20 February 2027
Last day to present the sale deed (4 months from 15 Jan 2027)	15 May 2027

Does the power itself need registering?

This is where things moved in 2026. On 13 July 2026 a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court (Inspector General of Registration v. Muhammed, WA 203 of 2022 and WA 1354 of 2022) held that a power of attorney executed abroad, authorising dealings with immovable property, had to be compulsorily registered under section 17(1)(g) before it could be used. The court said section 33 "only deems the power of attorney so executed to be valid for the purpose of presenting documents for registration", and that compulsory registration "stands independent of and separate from" Part VI of the Act.

The ruling binds Kerala. Section 17 has been amended differently by different states, so whether your power must be registered depends on where the flat is. Ask the sub-registrar's office there before you sign anything abroad.

An open question at the Supreme Court

Can the attorney who signs a sale deed present it as its "executant" under section 32(a), skipping the section 33 rules? In Rajni Tandon v. Dulal Ranjan Ghosh Dastidar (29 July 2009) the Supreme Court said yes. In G. Kalawathi Bai v. G. Shashikala (2025 INSC 851, 15 July 2025) a two-judge bench said it was "unable to subscribe to this view" and referred the question to a larger bench. We could not confirm whether the larger bench has ruled. Until it does, the safer course for an NRI is a power that meets section 33(1)(c) anyway.

Drafting checklist

• Name the property precisely, with survey or flat number and address.
• List the acts allowed: sign the agreement and sale deed, receive the consideration into a named account, appear before the sub-registrar, apply for mutation.
• Say whether the attorney may receive money. If not, say the price goes straight to your NRO or NRE account.
• Add an end date, and keep a written revocation ready if you no longer need it.
• Have a lawyer in the property's state draft it to that state's stamp and registration rules.

This is general information, not legal advice.