e-StampSub-Registrar
The instrument, and what it does
An agreement to sell records the bargain: price, property, payment schedule, possession, the date for the sale deed, and what happens on default. It creates contractual obligations between the parties. What it does not do is transfer ownership — that happens only on execution and registration of the sale deed.
In Gujarat this document is almost always called a બાનાખત, sometimes સાટાખત. The words are used interchangeably. Full guide to banakhat and satakhat →
Section 17(1A) of the Registration Act, 1908 provides that a document containing a contract to transfer immovable property for consideration for the purposes of section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, executed on or after 24 September 2001, must be registered — and if it is not, it has no effect for section 53A purposes. Section 53A is the doctrine of part performance: the protection that lets a buyer already in possession resist being put out by the seller. Delivery of possession is an ingredient of section 53A itself. So the practical rule at this counter is simple: possession passing means the agreement gets registered.
Why the drafting matters more here than at the sale deed
By the time the sale deed is drawn, the terms are settled and the document largely records them. The agreement to sell is where the terms are made — and where an omission becomes expensive. The clauses that decide later disputes are: what happens if the buyer's loan is not sanctioned; what happens if a defect in title emerges; whether time is of the essence; how outstanding dues on the property are apportioned; and whether the earnest money is forfeited, refunded, or refunded with interest.
If the title search is not complete, if the NA position is unconfirmed, if a bank sanction is pending — say so in the agreement and make completion conditional on it, with a clean exit if the condition fails. That is far better than signing an unconditional agreement and hoping.
We do not publish duty figures on this website. The Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958 was amended in 2025 and several articles were restructured; a rate printed on a web page goes stale and costs somebody money. As a Government authorised e-Stamping centre we confirm the duty currently prescribed for your specific document and issue the e-stamp against it, at face value. The notarial fee is separate and capped by law — ₹35 to attest execution, ₹35 to administer an oath or take an affidavit, under Rule 10(1) of the Notaries Rules, 1956. The full fee table →
Drafted here, in Gujarati or English
Drafted by an advocate of 35+ years rather than filled into a downloaded template, e-stamped at a Government authorised centre, and notarised in the same visit. If the parties read Gujarati, the document is drafted in Gujarati — not translated out of an English form, because legal Gujarati has its own settled vocabulary and a literal translation frequently means something looser.
What to bring
- Title documents and the chain of title
- 7/12 and 8-A extract, or the property card
- Photo ID for both parties
- Agreed price, earnest money and payment schedule
- Whether possession passes, and when
- Any loan, charge or dispute affecting the property