e-StampNotaryRegistration optional
What a POA is, in one line
It is an instrument of agency. You authorise another person to do specified things in your name, and whatever they lawfully do within that authority binds you. That is its whole nature, and its whole risk.
Suraj Lamp & Industries (P) Ltd. v. State of Haryana (2011) settled this: sale agreement, general power of attorney and will transactions do not convey or create title in immovable property. Only a registered conveyance does. The so-called GPA sale — money paid, a general power of attorney taken, possession handed over, no deed — leaves the buyer without title. The Court did not invalidate genuine transactions carried out through a properly registered power of attorney, nor bar specific performance. But if someone is offering to “sell” you a property on a GPA, you are not buying a property.
What the duty depends on
Stamp duty on a power of attorney is charged under the article of the Schedule to the Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958 that covers powers of attorney, and the charge is not uniform across all of them. What it is depends on what the instrument does — how many persons are giving it, who it is given to, and above all whether it authorises dealing with immovable property or is confined to routine acts. A POA to collect a pension is not treated as a POA to sell land.
We do not publish the figures. The Act was amended in 2025, and on an instrument this sensitive an out-of-date number is worse than none. Bring the powers you actually want to give and we identify the article and confirm the current duty at the counter. See how stamp duty is calculated.
General or special
- A special power of attorney authorises one identified act — appear in a particular case, operate one account, execute one specified document, complete one registration. Its scope is its safety.
- A general power of attorney authorises a class of acts across a category of affairs. It is convenient for a person living abroad, and it is the instrument that gets abused. A general power should never be given without limits on time, subject matter and the specific properties or accounts it covers.
Our standing advice: give the narrowest power that does the job. Nobody has ever regretted a POA that was too specific.
Registration: optional, until it is not
A power of attorney is not separately enumerated in section 18 of the Registration Act, 1908; it falls under the residual clause, section 18(f), which makes registration optional rather than compulsory. That is the general position.
Two qualifications matter. Section 33 of the Registration Act, 1908 requires a power of attorney used to present documents for registration to be authenticated. And Sub-Registrars, banks, housing finance companies and buyers' advocates routinely insist on a registered POA before they will act on it in a property matter, whatever the strict position is. If your POA is going anywhere near a property transaction, plan on registering it. Read notarised vs registered.
Section 84 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 directs the court to presume that a power of attorney executed before and authenticated by a Notary Public was so executed and authenticated. Note the limits: it goes to due execution and authentication, not to the truth of the contents, and it is rebuttable. It is a real advantage, and it is one reason a POA is worth notarising properly rather than casually.
Executed abroad, used here
The commonest version: a family member in the Gulf, the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada needs someone in Vadodara to act. The instrument is executed before a notary public there, authenticated through the Indian mission, and then stamped in Gujarat before it is acted on. Get the drafting right at this end before it is signed at that end — a POA that omits the specific power the Sub-Registrar or the bank needs has to be redone from six thousand kilometres away. See outstation notary work and documents that take effect outside India.
Revocation
Revocation should be in writing, communicated to the attorney, and notified to everyone who might act on the original — the bank, the Sub-Registrar's office, the society, the tenant. Where the original was registered, register the revocation too. Deciding privately that the POA is over does not protect you against a third party acting in good faith on a document you never withdrew.
The 2025 amendment added an Explanation treating copies, extracts and photocopies as original instruments for duty purposes. A POA typically needs to be produced to several institutions, so tell us at the start how many executed sets you need.
The visit
The person giving the power attends with original identity. We draft, confirm the duty, issue the e-stamp certificate as a Government authorised centre (CSC ID 136237240013), and the Notary attests execution under section 8(1)(a) of the Notaries Act, 1952 under signature and official seal, at the fee capped by Rule 10(1) at ₹35 — or ₹200 where the instrument is intended to take effect outside India.
What to bring
- Original photo identity and PAN of the person giving the power, with photographs
- Full name, address and identity details of the attorney being appointed
- A precise list of the acts you want authorised — the narrower the better
- Property papers or account details the power will operate on
- The time limit you want the power to run for
- Two witnesses with identity documents