Registration in West Bengal is conducted through the e-Nathikaran system. The deed is drafted, the particulars are entered on wbregistration.gov.in to generate an e-assessment and a query number, stamp duty and registration fee are paid electronically against that query number, and the parties then attend the registration office having jurisdiction over the property to admit execution and give their photographs and fingerprints. The registered document is collected afterwards. A document must ordinarily be presented for registration within four months of execution.
Which office
A deed transferring immovable property is registered at the office of the District Sub-Registrar or Additional District Sub-Registrar within whose jurisdiction the property is situated, or at the office of the Registrar of Assurances where its jurisdiction applies. Jurisdiction follows the property, not the residence of the parties or the convenience of the deed writer. Presenting a deed at the wrong office is a defect that has to be undone.
The stages
The draft. The deed is prepared with the schedule of property, the recitals of how the seller’s title arose, the consideration, and the covenants. The schedule is the part that later decides disputes: the mouza, the dag (দাগ) or plot number, the khatian (খতিয়ান) number, the area, the boundaries, and — for a flat — the undivided share in the land and the appurtenances. A schedule that does not match the record of rights will cause difficulty at mutation and may cause difficulty in a suit years later.
E-assessment and the query number. The particulars of the parties and the property are entered on the registration portal. The system returns an assessed market value and a query number. The query has a stated period of validity, printed on the assessment slip itself, and the assessment lapses if registration is not completed within it. Where the entered particulars are wrong, the assessment made on them is of no effect.
Payment. Stamp duty and the registration fee are paid against the query number through the Government Receipt Portal System, and the receipted challan bearing its reference number is retained. Where the consideration is fifty lakh rupees or more, tax deducted at source under section 194-IA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is deposited separately in Form 26QB and that challan is produced as well. The rates are set out in the guide to stamp duty and registration fees.
Presentation and admission of execution. The parties attend in person on the appointed day with the executed deed. Identification documents are produced, photographs and fingerprints are captured, and each executant admits execution before the registering officer. Attesting witnesses attend. A party who cannot attend may act through a duly executed and, where required, adjudicated power of attorney; a party outside India should expect the instrument of power to be scrutinised closely.
Endorsement and collection. The document is endorsed, numbered and recorded, and is returned to the person entitled to it after processing. A certified copy may afterwards be obtained from the same office, and the record becomes searchable on the registration portal.
Mutation. Registration transfers the interest; it does not by itself alter the public record of who holds the land or who is assessed to municipal rates. That is a separate application, described in the guide to mutation.
Time limits
A document must be presented for registration within four months from the date of its execution under section 23 of the Registration Act, 1908. Where that period is exceeded, section 25 allows the Registrar to condone a delay of up to a further four months on payment of a fine which may extend to ten times the proper registration fee. Beyond eight months from execution the document cannot be registered at all, and the transaction has to be re-executed.
The consequence of non-registration matters. Under section 17 of the Act a conveyance of immovable property is compulsorily registrable, and under section 49 an unregistered instrument that ought to have been registered does not affect the property and cannot be received as evidence of the transaction it records.
Deed writers and advocates
Preparation of documents for registration in West Bengal is a licensed occupation under the West Bengal Registration (Deed Writers) Rules, 1999, administered by the District Registrar. Advocates are not required to hold a licence under those rules. Where a deed is drafted by a licensed deed writer, the drafting and the examination of title are different exercises, and a purchaser who has had the first done has not necessarily had the second.
Documents you will need
- The draft deed, with the schedule of property
- The seller’s title deed and the earlier deeds in the chain
- The current record of rights and mutation certificate
- The latest municipal or land revenue receipt
- Identification and permanent account number of every party
- Photographs of the parties
- The sanctioned plan and, for a completed building, the completion certificate
- Where a party acts through an attorney, the instrument of power
- Where the consideration is fifty lakh rupees or more, the Form 26QB challan
- The receipted challan for stamp duty and registration fee
Frequently asked questions
Can a property be registered without the seller attending?
Only through an attorney holding a validly executed power for the purpose. The instrument will be examined, and a power executed abroad has additional requirements as to attestation.
What happens if the four-month period has passed?
A delay of up to four further months may be condoned by the Registrar on payment of a fine which may extend to ten times the registration fee. After eight months from execution the document cannot be registered.
Is a registered deed proof that the seller owned the property?
No. Registration records that a document was executed and presented. It does not establish that the executant had the title he purported to transfer. That is what a search of the chain of title is for.
Does the deed have to be registered where I live?
No. It is registered at the office having jurisdiction over the property.
Portal workflows and the periods of validity attached to an e-assessment are altered from time to time and should be checked on wbregistration.gov.in. This page describes the general position and is not advice on any particular transaction.