Registration of Documents

The Registration of documents is very important because of their admissibility as evidence in case of any legal dispute regarding the claim of any benefit or any right, arising from the said document.

Section 17 of The Indian Registration Act, 1908 requires compulsory registration of the following types of documents:

(i) Instruments of gift of immovable property;

(ii) Instruments other than non-testamentary instruments which purport or operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in the present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent to or in immovable property;

(iii) 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; and

(iv) leases of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent;

(v) 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 the present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, to or in immovable property:

(vi) Authorities to adopt a son not conferred by a will, is also to be registered.

Section 18 of the Registration Act makes the registration of the following documents optional:

(i) instruments (other than instruments of gift and wills) which purport or operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in the 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;

(ii) instruments acknowledging the receipt or payment of any consideration on account of the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinction of any such right, title or interest;

(iii) leases of immovable property for any term not exceeding one year,;

(iv) 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 the 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 ;]

(v) 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;

(vi) wills; and

(vii) all other documents not required by section 17 to be registered.