Friday, April 26, 2013

Mis-selling saga: Will wronged policyholders get justice?


As policyholders we are also responsible also for falling into such traps

Deepti Bhaskaran  Mint Feb 06 2013. for full article read

Six years ago, I became a life insurance agent. As a journalist writing a story on the quality of agents’ training and licensing, this was the only way to get a first person account (I was working in another newspaper at that time). An agent from a private life insurance company, who came to sell me a unit-linked insurance policy (Ulip), assuring double-digit returns, helped me since he was a couple of new recruits away to a holiday in the hills.
His aspiration for a free family trip was also his bait for me and that’s how I was introduced to this professional title: life insurance agent. The job: sell as many policies as you can, meet the targets and get free gifts over and above the commission that is rightfully yours. And what do you do to deserve that money? Nothing. Really, nothing. I did not sit through the 100 hours of mandatory training before the exam because this agent helped me fudge my attendance. And when I cleared my exam, I did not go for any product training. Yet, soon after, I was swamped with SMSes of new policies to sell and target figures to meet. I would also receive SMSes promising added incentives such as trips to exotic destinations.
Obviously, I didn’t sell any policy because this exercise was part of a story to unearth how the masses were being lured into becoming agents and my licence with no business written against my name expired soon after. 
But the experience really described the people who got almost 40% of the policyholders’ money for selling policies they perhaps themselves do not understand. It also exposed the environment in which the distribution landscape existed and continues to exist even now to a large extent. Lack of training, front-loaded incentives and no accountability transformed most insurance agents to con artists, who left a trail of unhappy investors. Seeing through the hard-sell much later, these investors simply refused to fund the policy any further and losing much of their investments in the bargain.
But for an industry that depends on a continuous stream of premium income, also known as renewal premiums, it is disconcerting to see complete apathy to the malaise in their distribution system. A good look at the products that were built like investor traps and the puzzle begins to unravel itself; you start understanding why despite such high rates of customer dissatisfaction and lapsation, insurers have made profits and reported double-digit business growth consistently.
As a rookie reporter some six years back, I would meet a lot of agents posing as an interested customer to get a sense of how Ulips were sold. It’s true that Ulips were sold as a three-year product, promising double-digit return in a short span of time, but one such instance is worth mentioning. A bank representative while dishing out the benefits of a Ulip handed me the brochure. A quick glance at the cost told me that the insurer would keep 70% of my money as premium allocation charge in the first year and if I surrendered the policy after the first year, I would get nothing back. Yet for the bank representative, a three-year horizon was good enough for a double-digit return.
This explains why insurers did not raise an alarm in the face of high lapsation rates and why agents continued mis-selling. Fat charges in the policy ensured they were able to recover most of their costs and high lapsation only translated into profits for the companies. So while the agent made his money from the sale of policies and the insurers made profits out of lapsation, you and me became the losers. Yes, we were sold these policies as a money-doubling vehicle, but we are responsible, too, for falling into such traps. We buy them in the last-minute rush to save taxes or we simply don’t read through the brochures to understand the product, when we can if we take the trouble to do so. But the mis-selling engulfed the investments of even those who are simply not equipped to understand the intricacies of a bundled financial product.
For an industry that is regulated and yet is reeling under rampant mis-selling, it is quite astonishing to know that there is no data on how much the investors have lost. ....thinks it is deliberate on the part of the insurer to not give out data on how much investors lost. Mint Money struggled with the information at hand to arrive at an estimate of how much the investors lost in the last 7 years. So if the industry collected Rs.3.7 trillion worth of premiums from the sale of fresh regular premium policies in the last seven years, we the investors lost Rs.1.56 trillion. (My note = 1 trillion = Rs 1 lakh crore and India's budget in 2012 was of Rs 14 lakh crore approx )
So far the insurance regulator has attacked the roots of the problem. Surrender charges are capped and costs have been contained so that there is an automatic focus on the persistency of a policy. But we still need to cover more ground. As rightly pointed out by an industry veteran, we should ask why did the insurers move the lapsed money to their profit and loss account when it belonged to the policyholders? Another pertinent question is how can we get justice for the people who have lost their money to insurance mis-selling.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

FAQ or Layman’s guide to property registration etc


Procedures for Registration of Land

 You can start residing in a property by paying its complete price to the developer/seller through a home loan. However, to become a legal owner, you have to pay your stamp duty and the registration fees on the property, which varies from state to state.

"Registration of the property is the last lap of the deal between the buyer and the seller. It is a full and final agreement signed between the two parties and once it is submitted at the local registrar's office, the buyer legally becomes the owner of the apartment," says Akshay Kulkarni, of  Cushman& Wakefield. Property Registration in India is compulsory under section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908. The registration of property is to be done generally in the Sub-Registrar’s Offices by the Sub-Registrar or in the Assistant Registrar’s office by the Asstt Registrar.

Following are various points to be kept in mind before registration of property :

   DOCUMENT CHECK


  • Verify the property title: The property documentation will vary depending on whether the property is being transferred from 
         A) developer (say from Unitech or DLF or Ambuja) to you or 
         B) seller (ordinary person, other than a develper) to you.

  •       The process of due diligence gets easier in case of a secondary sale (i.e. B as referred above)  as the first owner of the property would have all the documents in place for the registration of the property. So you must ask the seller to give the Photocopy/Xerox copy of the “sale deed”. The one should also ask for the Sanction Plan (this is done at Corporation office of a city and copy of which may be availed by paying certain fees)

  •      If the title is not clear/ marketable, most financial institutions would refuse to finance the property. A bank or a housing finance company carries out the due diligence process before approving the housing loan. However, the onus lies on the buyer to verify the property title (i.e. seller is true owner of the property) before registration. So verify the title by asking your lawyer to “search” the title of the property at the various Sub-Registrar’s office. It is not enough if they search only one sub-Registrar’s office, since things are not computerized totally i.e. it is not computerized before 2010.
    ## now it is super easy. You can search a property by typing the name of a person and registration year of the property. Unbelievable ? Just try it ... http://www.wbregistration.gov.in
      You don't even need the help of lawyer

   You can randomly try any name ,say, Sumit,  Year 2017 and see the result



  •       The documentation will vary depending on whether the property is being transferred from the developer (say Unitech or DLF or Ambuja ) or if it is a secondary sale.


  •                "In case of an under-construction property, the home buyer has to do it in good faith. The document check process can really be extensive and long drawn," says Kulkarni. However, a bank or a housing finance company carries out the due diligence process before approving the project and the housing loan. In case of under-construction property, you have to make a JV agreement/ memorandum with the Promoter (Why JV ? Because Land is provided by owner and finance for the building is by builder)

  •         If the property is already under lien, then the mortgaging agency will have its own format.

  •                 In the case of purchase of a used flat, you have to seek documents relating to the original or mother title, conveyance deed, agreement of sale, no-objection certificate, occupation certificate and possession letter from the existing owner of the house.


         ##    Special points to be noted

If you are buying a flat from an ARC (Asset Reconstruction company), who has purchased the repossessed flat (under SARFAESI) from the Bank  [sold through their lawyer or constituted attorney] – you must ask the a) original or mother sale deed 
b) ask for the orders of court and / or DRT order, if the contest of original loaner/guarantor has been dismissed.
 c) Assignment of debt agreement from bank to ARC 
d) Sanction letter. In my case it was not available
(To know more about Sarfaesi read this )


It is possible after the flat has been taken over by the bank – the loaner has filed the case in DRT – but it might be dismissed since the party has delayed in filing the case to DRT due to limitation act. In that case they can file the case to Court.  However to file the case under SARFAESI the party has to deposit 75% of the money or anything which is reasonable according to the judge. This in effect reduces the chance of contesting the case. 

There are people, one of whom I know and stays in a posh locality in a multi storied building, who acts as a tout – they take a power of attorney from the failed borrower and extract money from the lawyers by blackmail and thrive on these litigating properties. Unless the legal system is cleansed there are many touts (rich and not typical touts who think of) who go to the lawyers chamber in search of these properties and find the loophole in the system to harass the buyer of property who has purchased the flat in good faith from the ARC. The whole system has become rotten and government is having a blind eye over this!

Do not buy anything from ARC unless you get all the papers, otherwise it is possible when you buy the property you find the loaner has filed the case in High court and asked for injunction. You can know this only if you get the papers. So you must ask the ARC or their lawyer or attorney whether the party has contested the take over of the asset and if so, give you the court order to know the finality of the case. This is exactly what has happened in one of the cases where I have been involved (where the DRT dismissed the case of defaulter). So I want the lay man to be careful. The whole thing is written in lay man’s language without using any undefined jargon. Normally ARCs has got a format for a “sale deed” and there is a typical style of writing these deeds.

You also need to ask the “consumer number” to know the position of CESC or electricity dues, if any and also if municipal taxes are due (for that you need to know the assessee number)

"If a property that is under mortgage is to be registered, the mortgaging bank will require an NoC from the housing society in a prescribed format. It would then initiate the loan disbursement process, depending on the repayment eligibility of the purchaser. The document will be duly registered after the bank confirms the disbursement to the seller after obtaining all the originals from the sub-registrar's office. The housing society will need to receive an intimation, without which the existing owner cannot create any third-party lien or exercise any right to further sell or grant a leave and licence on the property," Duggar says.

FORMAT OF SALE DEED

First they write it an agreement between Mr X and Mr Y on such and such date.

Secondly, Recital of the case – it is taken from mother documents. If your lawyer is hard working he will write the history or recital of the ownership of the flat and subsequent transfer for last 50 years(even) or if he is less hard working he will start the history from last 2 transferor. There is no hard and fast rule.But one must write the Deed number, serial number and book no. of each registration done previously.

Thirdly , The schedule should clearly mention/describe in separate schedule the land, building , specify the car parking space (we faced problem since our car parking space was not identified or marked in the deed) and your access to go to the terrace/roof right

Fourthly, draw the sketch of the property with the help of a surveyor. 

Lastly there should be a part where the parties sign and witnesses also sign. So if you are confident you can easily make a deed.

MUTATION

You need to ask the “assessee number” with KMC (say) to find out whether the municipal tax are being paid or not. If you know the assesse number, you can put it (say, in  Kolkata ) here :
https://www.kmcgov.in to find out the default. If the ward number is within 1-90 then mutation can be done at KMC office at SN Bannerjee Road. After 90 it is to be done at Behala. If the assesse number is , say, 41121410555, that means your ward number is 121 i.e. 3rd to 5th  number is your ward number. For mutation you have to download form A42 from KMC website (https://www.kmcgov.in) and fill up the form. You have fill up 3 forms normally:

1. Verification at the 5th page,
2. proforma I to be filled up at the office of KMC and
 3. proforma II in Rs 10 stamp paper which is to be notarized by notary public (every lawyer knows at least one notary public).


FACTORS TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE OR AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION

Whenever a property buyer buys a piece of land/immovable property, he/she needs to register the same with the authority concerned. Registration of the property is a full and final agreement signed between the two parties and once it is submitted at the local registrar’s office and the registration is complete, the buyer legally becomes the owner of the apartment". Once a property is registered, it means that the person in whose favour the property is registered is the lawful owner of the premises and is fully responsible for it in all respects. If the required documents are not duly registered, then Section 49 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908, states that the documents will not have any bearing on the property, and that they do not confer any transaction rights over the property." In other words, the law does not recognise unregistered owners and does not give them any rights over the property.

  •   Find Sub Registrar Office: One has to present the “Sale Deed” ( a typical sale deed is given below) in the concerned Sub-Registrar Office where the land is situated.  Your lawyer or attorney will help you to find your concerned registrar office. Kolkata Registrar of Assurance is one place (beside Governor House, between Council House street and Red cross place) where Registration all over WB can be done.                     Alipore RA office is district head quarter of South 24 Pgns. So any property falling under South 24 Pgns can be done here.                                                                                       
  •   If a property is in Kasba (say), the Registration can be done at Sealdah RA (on Shakespere Sarani, near Park circus) or RA Kolkata .

  •  Schedules in Sale Deed: The “Schedule of the property” given at the end of the “sale deed” should be correctly defined in the Sale Deed and if any structure is situated over the landed property that has to be mentioned in the Sale Deed along with its cost. Preparation of property Sale Deed is done by an attorney or lawyer on behalf of the purchaser. If there is common passage or road in front of your house (where cars can be parked or vehicles can run) then valuation of your house will increase accordingly. E.g. in one particular case, I am aware of, when the common passage was wrongly shown as 12 feet instead of 16 feet and was corrected later, the value decided by the value of house determined by Sub registrar’s office increased by Rs 50,000/-.

  • Before you go for registration you have to find out the value of the house determined by the sub registrar’s office and that value is valid for 1 month. The fee charged is Rs 50 in Kolkata. But even to do that you have bribe respective table to get the work done faster and actually the cost to “know” the value of your property is several times more than mere “Rs 50” mentioned above. This is what has been said to me. But the fact is very it is very  simple. You have to go to the Sub or Assistant Registrar’s office before 1.00 pm and submit the form (http://www.keepandshare.com ) to the concerned counter . The counter in RA  Kolkata accepts this form irrespective of the location. Some fools will ask you which land (location) will be registered. The form is same irrespective of the locality of the land or registrar’s office.

          The timing of deposit of form is between 11 am - 1 pm. and they give the report after 4 pm till             5 p.m. (approx) .We have collected it even at 5.10 pm !

     Or one can go to this site : https:https://wbregistration.gov.in/(S(ihafjjukpotbnvtkulsx4wmf))/MV/mv_aprt.aspx to          know the value.

One can also do the same at Alipore Registrar office ( at the back side of Bhabani Bhawan - entrance is same as Bhabani Bhawan) or Sealdah office (near Park circus - on Shakespeare Sarani after   crossing AJC Bose Road), provided your property falls under that jurisdiction. The timing of deposit of form is 10 am -2 pm. and they give the report after 5 pm at Alipore.
This is done at the sub registrar’s office (RA Kolkata - just diagonally opposite is to main gate of Governor’s house – which is situated just before entering the Kiran Sankar Roy Road beside Calcutta High court).

There are other sub-Registrar’s office too in Behala, Alipore,Sealdah. The property anywhere in India can be registered in RA Kolkata or any 3 other RA offices in India. However at sub registrar office in Alipore (Bhawani Bhawan) you can register only those properties over which it has jurisdiction. However  It may be noted the cost structure in RA Kolkata is invariably higher and hence it will be cheaper to do it in Alipore. HOWEVER WE HAVE FOUND OUT DUE TO COMPUTERIZATION OF WHOLE SYSTEM, VALUE DERIVED BY RA Kolata is same as Sub Registry office Alipore.

  • Once the value is decided you have to buy stamp paper and make demand draft for the balance amount and pay some amount in cash (official and not illegal) at the sub registrar’s office or Registrar of Assurances office (or colloquially RA office) at the time of registration as registration charges. There are RA I, RA II, RA III and each of them has some defined role e.g. in one particular case Deed of Assignment is in RA III. 

  • If you want a certified  true copy of your deed (for various purposes like Mutation or lost etc) one can go to RA Kolkata 1st floor and submit a Rs 10 stamp paper and Rs 10 court fee stamp at the counter along with Rs 200 and write “ the being number ….for the year 2012 “ at the top of the stamp paper.I was asked to come at 3 pm and was asked to get the copy tomorrow between 3.30 to 5 pm. All they asked me, was my name to write down in a paper. Next day i went there after 3.30 pm and got it in 5 minutes (I had to tell them the being number...). That is it ! The agent asked from me Rs 1250 and said it will take 7 days time.

  • At the time of registration you have to affix 2 photographs, take a copy of Pan and ink pad and sign and give your finger prints in a form called " specimen form for 10 finger prints " . The form is enclosed here.

  • Deed writer or volume writer : Before the date of registration (may be one or two day before the date of registration) you have to take your sale deed(actually soft copy in pen drive) and give to a person called deed writer or volume writer . The " Volume writers" will take a print out in a special paper, which has to be submitted on the date of registration. In the olden days when there was no scanner or photocopy these people used to write the whole agreement in a special big sized paper which will be kept by the Registrar in their office. If somebody wants a copy of the same then they will make a copy from the same. Even though this has become redundant still the process has been kept till the last deed writer retires ! This is to be done nevertheless and give it to the clerk of the receiving counter at the time of registration along with the fees/drafts/stamp paper/deed etc.  One such volume writer who sits at the RA office, Kolkata is Ms Samita Talukdar - 9830 05 08 16. She charges Rs 10 per page and also Rs 30 for typing in that special type of page. On the date of registration you need her help, she needs to sign some of the papers on that date.
  •  It is better to go there early morning ie 10 am so that whole things can be expedited. Once the documents are given to the receiving section the documents will move from one table to another and finally the deed will be registered after it is being "presented" in front of the registrar.
  • A LOOK AT COSTS AND THE PROCESS OF REGISTRATIONThere are various costs involved, and these vary from state to state. "Currently, in Mumbai, the cost can be 5% of the total registered value of the property, but this depends on the exact location. It can vary from 3% to 8% of the market value as determined by the sub registrar’s office, depending on the state, the exact location and registrar's jurisdiction.                                                                                          
  •             In West Bengal it is 6% Stamp Duty and 1.1% Registration charges.It hardly matters what is the actual sale value. This is done to by pass the under reporting of transaction value. These days normally you are required to buy a small amount, say Rs 500 or 1,000 of Stamp paper (due to fake stamp paper in circulation) and pay the balance in demand draft . Strangely this demand draft should be a demand draft made only at SBI and no other bank !! The chq should be in the name of "Additional Registrar of Assurances - I , Kolkata "  payable at Kolkata (code no. 10391). Two drafts are required to be made. One Towards the stamp duty and the other towards the registration charges.
  •              The final registration happens at the sub-registrar's office, by paying a stamp duty that could range from 3% to 6% of the market value of the property (In Kolkata 6%). The exact percentage depends upon the city. The reader of the sub-registrar of assurances checks the relevant documents. The levy of stamp duty is a State subject and thus the rates of stamp duty vary from State to State.
  • Then, the buyer pays 0.5% to 1.1% (this again varies from city to city - In Kolkata 1.1%) of the transaction value to the sub-registrar for registration. The seller/developer then hands over possession of the property to the buyer.
  • Therefore the registration of a property involves adequate stamping and paying the registration charges for a sales deed and having it legally recorded at the sub-registrar's office.
  • I have been told that now the e-payment of stamp duty is possible and for relevant details, click here for the website According to them you have to go to " PAYMENT OF TAX AND NON-TAX REVENUE "  for payment and then GRN i.e. Government Reference Number  and BRN i.e. Bank Reference Number will be generated; any payment till 8 pm will be uploaded by them (Bank) to Government   and  Governemnt , next day after lunch hours (say 2 pm) , will in turn upload the challan at their site (https://www.wbregistration.gov.in). The status can be seen at the site at "GRIPS on right hand side and from their click "  REPRINT OF CHALLAN  " This process has started only in 2013. I have actually made the payment through Axis Bank. Apparently there is a luxury tax of Rs 100 for registration . so make a draft separately on RA Kolkata, Kolkata for Rs 100. 


            Step II:

Select Department/Directorate:*
Select Service :*
  
Step III  


Depositor's Details
Depositor's Name:*Phone No:Mobile No:*
Address:*E-Mail:
Depositor Status:*
Query No.:*
Query Year:*
Payment Mode:*
      
  • If the property is purchased from a developer, registering the property amounts to legal conveyance.
  •  If it is the second or third transaction for the property, duly stamped and registered transfer deed may also be needed.
  • The law does not say that you need a lawyer for registration, but officers at sub Registrar’s office often insist that it should be vetted by a lawyer. So what you can do, is make an agreement (model copy of which is enclosed below) and get it vetted by a lawyer on the date of registration (have an appointment before the date of registration and make it an eye wash before the sub registrar’s office). The lawyer’s typically charge 1% for registration. Normally it should not be more than Rs 10,000 if the value of property is within Rs 20 Lakh.

  • There are still very few good lawyers left who will never cheat you and wont fleece you and you contact my friend (Sandip) for vetting the deed and will charge reasonable amount from you – he can be reached at 9836 86 01 64 or email at roychoudhury.sandip@yahoo.com
  • Take appointment:  An appointment has to be taken at the office of the Sub-Registrar. Normally the clerk of your lawyer will go to the RA office early in the morning (say 10 am) to take an appointment by writing in the register maintained in RA office. They have to pay money at every table to smoothen the process, I understand.
  • However, the basic requirements during the registration process are a copy of the buyer's PAN card, photo identity proof such as a copy of the passport or driving license, proof of residence and two witnesses and 2 passport size photos.
  •    Submission of Documents: After detailed verification of Sale Deed, the registration process will be completed as per the Registration Act. Once the registration is complete the duly registered document may be collected by signing in the dispatch register or by giving a letter of authority to someone to collect it on your behalf after few days. In other words, the final sale deed should be stamped and registered at the appropriate Sub-Registrar’s Office. The sub-registrar keeps a copy of the documents and returns the original documents to the buyer after 2-3 days (by showing a token).The process is now computerised in most states and involves the issuing of a Challan or Porchi for handing over the registered document . The due process can take anything from 3 to 5 days.However during mid-December to mid-January you are not supposed to buy or register land because they are considered inauspicious time, then things can be done even in an hour!
  •  In Kolkata land records has become computerised since 2010 . After registration is done they will scan the sale deed and make necessary computerized entries in a separate office (they normally take the documents in the evening for scanning and entries, as per my information) and do the stamping on the sale deed and return it to us after 3 – 4 days. 

££ However while searching, the lawyers has to go to various RA office to find out the details. If the property is developed only 2 years back then all the details will be there in computerised document form, but if you want to know the history of the land then you have to see the physical records. In other words 30 years from today you can check only the soft copy, unless the old records are also computerized.


Mutation of the title: Once the registration is complete, the purchaser has to apply to the local municipal authority (E.g. KMC office at SN Bannerjee Road or to Rajarhat Gopalnagar authority at Teghoria, if your property is situated at VIP Road, say) to get the title of the property concerned transferred in his/her name in the records of the municipal authority.  This is commonly referred to as mutation of the title of the property.

·        


Source: Vidyalaxmi, ET Bureau Jun 10, 2011 and others


Q. Which papers/document/fees, do I take with me?

1.
Document required to be registered ( in duplicate)
2.
2 Passport size photographs of both parties.
3.
Two witnesses.
4.
Proof of identification of each party and witnesses i.e. election Identity Card, Passport, identity Card issued by Govt. of India, Semi govt. and Autonomous bodies or identification by a Gazetted officer.
5.
In case the property is/was under a lease from D.D.A., L&DO, M.C.D., Industries Department, Labour Department of Delhi Govt. etc., permission of lessor for registration of the document.
6.
No objection Certificate under section 8 of Delhi Land (Restriction and Transfer) Act, 1972 from Tehsildar of the Sub Division of the District to the effect that the property is not under acquisition.
7.
Permission from the Appropriate Authority in the prescribed proforma 37 I, where the transaction exceeds Rs.50,00,000/- under the provisions contained in section 269 of Income Tax Act, 1961.



Gist of Registration Act (courtesy VS Datey)
The main purpose for which the Act was designed was to ensure information about all deals concerning land, so that correct land records could be maintained. The Act is used for proper recording of transactions relating to other immovable property also. The Act provides for registration of other documents also, which can give these documents more authenticity. Registering authorities have been provided in all the districts for this purpose.
Note that this registration is entirely different from registration of charge done by Registrar of Companies under Companies Act.
 If the charge relates to immovable property, registration with Registrar (appointed by State Government) under Registration Act and registration under Companies Act with ROC are both required.
Documents of which registration is compulsory - Registration of documents relating to immovable property is compulsory. Registration of will is optional.
Documents not requiring registration - Some documents though related to immovable property are not required to be registered. These are given in section 17(2) of the Act.
Time of presentation for registration - Document should be submitted for registration within 4 months from date of execution [section 23]. Decree or order of Court can be submitted within 4 months from the day it becomes final. If document is executed by several persons at different times, it may be presented for registration within 4 months from date of each execution [section 24]. If a document is executed abroad by some of the parties, it can be presented for registration within 4 months after its arrival in India [section 26].
Where document should be registered - Document relating to immovable property should be registered in the office of Sub-Registrar of sub-district within which the whole or some portion of property is situated [section 28]. Other document can be registered in the office of Sub-Registrar where all persons executing the document desire it to be registered [section 29]. A Registrar can accept a document which is registerable with sub-registrar who is subordinate to him [section 30(1)]. Document should be presented for registration at the office of Registrar/Sub-Registrar. However, in special case, the officer may attend residence of any person to accept a document or will [section 31].
All persons executing document must appear before Registrar - All persons executing the document or their representatives, assigns or agents holding power of attorney must appear before registering officer [section 34(1)]. They have to admit execution and sign the document in presence of Registrar, as required under section 58(1)(a). Appearance may be simultaneous or at different times [section 34(2)]. If document relates to transfer of ownership of immovable property, passport size photograph and finger prints of each buyer and seller of such property shall be affixed to document. [proviso to section 32A]. The Registrar is required to ensure that these are endorsed on the document.
Registration by Registering Officer - If the Registering Officer is satisfied about identity of persons and if they admit about execution of documents, and after registration fees are paid, the registering officer will register the document [section 35(1)]. He will make necessary entries in the Register maintained by him.
Certification of registration - After all formalities are complete, the Registering Officer will endorse the document with word ‘Registered’, and sign the same. The endorsement will be copied in Register. After registration, the document will be returned to the person who presented the document [section 61].
Effective date of document - A document takes effect from its date of execution and not from date of registration. However, if the document states that it will be effective from a particular date, it will be effective from that date [section 47].Normally the execution and registration on the same date.

Effect of non-registration - If a document which is required to be registered under section 17 or under provisions of Transfer of Property Act, 1882 is not registered, the effect is that such un-registered document * does not affect any immovable property comprised therein * cannot be received as evidence of any transaction affecting such property. - - - Thus, the document becomes redundant and useless for all practical purposes.  It can be accepted as evidence in criminal proceedings.


STEP 1 for registration at RA Kolkata 
For registration make 2 sets :
Set 1 - comprises of :
a) stamp paper
b) original land valuation paper given by RA office
c) Demand draft /  e- registration and e - stamp duty payment (challan)
d)  10 finger print sheets
Set 2 - comprises of :
a) Volume writer's sheet (where first, third, fifth i.e. even number of pages will be signed at the bottom by the purchaser) 
b) 10 finger print sheets

STEP 2

At the back of the stamp paper any lawyer  should sign to "identify the persons" . According to my friend he need not be the same person as the lawyer who drafts the agreement may be different. It can be any lawyer, which is probably correct. Initially I was of the opinion that it is signed as a witness.
STEP 3
The lawyer should sign along with 2 witnesses along with his registration number. His name should written in capital letter at the end of the deed.
STEP 4
KYC of seller is required along with PAN Card and Proof of Address.
STEP 5
Volume writer should sign at the end of volume writing page.She sits on the ground floor.
STEP 6
Then go to submit the papers 1st floor (in front of the gate - 5 metres from the gate) to the Sub-Registrar himself (in my case Ashim Kr Ghose). He will call the parties one by one to identify themselves...Mr X ? Yes Sir this is me, Mr X.
STEP 7
Then the Sub-Regitrar himself  will pass the papers to another counter beside him (which is beside the cash section near the window).
STEP 8
That counter will verify the papers and might call you for some clarification(s). The person over there Krishanu and Sanjib (?) is very helpful.
STEP 9
After that he will tell you to go to the biometric section. This section will take your picture with a camera (like the one, that can be seen in the immigration department of the airport) and they will also take your left hand thumb impression (before that wash your left hand thumb with water , otherwise they will not take your biometric scanning, since your fingers are already soiled by thumb impressions which you have done in the ground floor on the ten finger print sheet). He will ask for Rs. 50 but do not pay any money to him. He is not a Govt servant.
STEP 10

         Then go to the cash counter to pay the fees for "user charges" which is calculated on number of pages in          your deed of sale. The cashier with numbr of amulets in his hand is a cheat and will normally try to cheat            you by asking the double the amount to be paid and out which some amount will be "government fees". Do          not pay a single paisa to this idiot and pay exactly what is PRINTED ON THE SHEET. The cashier will give         you a computer print out. If you do not pay the bribe , he will ask you to pay the exact change. I paid                   exactly Rs 187 and told him be careful what you are doing and created a commotion there ! In the whole             process, Shri Pranay Kumar Chatterjee, Addl. IGR & Addl. CSR was of great help to me.              He is a  real gentleman and sits in the Writers Building.His name is given in the site of  WB  Regstrn                Deptt. 


       Once you make the payment at the cash section,you have to enter your (all the parties') name in a log book        (7 meters from the cash section - ask the cashier where to go after making payment). They (Haribabu will            ask for some money (Rs. 50/-) , you should act as deaf and dumb and do not pay any money !
STEP 11
In your deed of sale, there is no need for stamp paper, if you make the full payment through e-registration mode. If you have already bought a stamp paper for the front page of the deed, then you have to go to the sub-registrar's office and tell them (concerned section is beside the cash section) to change the "system" to the extent of stamp paper already purchased  (ie amount to be paid for stamp duty "online" will be reduced to the extent of stamp paper already purchased) . Only they can do it. You can even do the registration by a stamp paper of Rs 10 only. The system will take only the required stamp duty and not less. So if you want to make payment online then you have to make full payment, without any room for stamp paper. so it is better to make the full payment online and buy a Rs 10 stamp as a tokenism.

STEP 12
Now go to the IGR Section, after payment of cash, and show him the computer print out you have got from the cashier. where they will give you a small receipt called IGR and they will ask you to visit their office after 7 days to collect the registered sale deed. They will agin ask you Rs 50 ! Obvioulsy I did not pay a single rupee

    In this way I have broken the last citadel of corruption !
STEP 13
After 7 days you go to the 2nd floor and give them IGR slip (not cash memeo/receipt) and sign AT THE BACK by the presenter and give it to them. Ideally presenter should go and collect it. They asked if you are " the presenter ? "

Chronological order

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