NRI · Paperwork · The Propah POV
How does an NRI give power of attorney to buy property in India?
Sign a special power of attorney abroad before a notary, get it apostilled if you are in a Hague Convention country or attested at an Indian mission if you are not, courier the original to India, and have it stamped within three months of arrival and registered. Then your attorney can close without you flying in.
The document that decides whether you travel
Most NRI purchases do not fail on money or on title. They stall because the buyer has to be physically present to sign, and cannot be, and a document that should have been prepared eight weeks earlier is now being drafted in a hurry while a seller loses patience.
A power of attorney is simply written authority for someone in India to act for you. It is not complicated. It is just unforgiving about sequence: every step depends on the one before it, and the whole chain has to be complete before the day of registration.
Special, not general — and this is the main decision
A general power of attorney gives broad authority over your affairs. A special power of attorney authorises named acts, for a named property, for a limited time.
For a purchase, give a special power of attorney. There is no upside to the broader document and there is a great deal of downside: you are handing someone open-ended authority over your Indian assets, in another jurisdiction, where revoking it and communicating that revocation to everyone who might rely on it is slow and imperfect.
A special PoA is not a lesser document. It is the same authority, aimed at one thing, with an end date.
Executing it where you live
Section 33 of the Registration Act, 1908 governs which powers of attorney a registering officer will recognise. For a principal who does not reside in India, the statute provides that the power of attorney may be executed before and authenticated by — in the Act’s own words — “a Notary Public, or any Court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or representative of the Central Government”.
In practice that produces two routes:
| Apostille route | Consular route | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Hague Apostille Convention countries — the US, UK, most of the EU, Canada, Australia, Singapore | Non-Convention countries, and anywhere the counterparty insists on it |
| How | Sign before a local Notary Public, then obtain an apostille from that country’s designated authority | Attend the Indian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate and sign before a consular officer |
| Practical note | Usually faster and does not require an appointment at the mission | Appointment-led; timelines vary considerably by post |
India is a party to the Apostille Convention, and an apostille from a member country should not need further legalisation by an Indian mission. Some banks and some sub-registrars are nonetheless more comfortable with consular attestation. If a home loan is involved, ask the lender which it will accept before you execute — redoing this from abroad costs weeks.
What happens when it reaches India
An apostilled document is not yet usable. Two things still have to happen, in order.
Stamp first, then register
- Stamping, within three months. Under section 18 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, an instrument executed outside India must be stamped in India within three months of it first being received here. Miss that and the document is not properly stamped — which in practice means a sub-registrar will not act on it and a court will not admit it in evidence without penalty.
- Registration. A power of attorney relating to immovable property is registered at the Sub-Registrar’s office. Requirements and duty differ by state and by what the PoA authorises, so this is your advocate’s call, not a general rule from an article.
- The clock runs from arrival in India, not from signature. Courier the original promptly and tell your advocate the date it landed. Do not let it sit in someone’s drawer.
Send the original, by a trackable courier. Scans are useful for review and for nothing else at the registration counter.
The duty trap — and why buying is cheaper than selling
This is where published guidance causes the most unnecessary alarm, because most of it is written about selling.
Under the Karnataka Stamp Act, a power of attorney given for consideration that authorises the attorney to sell immovable property is charged at conveyance rates — effectively taxed like a sale, which for a ₹1.5 crore property means lakhs rather than hundreds. That treatment exists to stop people using powers of attorney as a substitute for a sale deed.
A power of attorney authorising someone to purchase property on your behalf, given without consideration, is not that instrument and is not charged that way. Published figures for the nominal amounts vary between sources — and Karnataka’s stamp provisions have been amended in recent years — so we are not going to quote you a rupee figure that might be wrong on the day. The structure is what matters:
- A PoA to buy, or to manage, is a nominal-duty instrument.
- A PoA to sell for consideration is charged like a conveyance.
- PoAs to close family members are treated more favourably than those to unrelated persons in several categories.
Have your advocate confirm the exact duty for your document and your state before you execute. It is a five-minute question with a large range of answers.
What a purchase PoA must actually authorise
The most common defect we see described is a PoA that says the attorney may “purchase the property” and stops there. Buying a property is not one act. It is a dozen, and any one of them can be refused if the document does not name it.
Ask your advocate to consider expressly including authority to:
- Sign the agreement to sell and the sale deed on your behalf, for the identified property.
- Pay the consideration and issue receipts and acknowledgements.
- Appear before the Sub-Registrar and admit execution — the specific act that presentation requires.
- Take physical possession and sign the handover documentation.
- Apply for mutation and khata or e-Khata transfer, and deal with the municipal authority.
- Sign home loan documentation, if a lender is involved — and note that lenders frequently want their own PoA format, so ask early.
- Deal with the builder or society on your behalf, including maintenance and utility connections.
- Represent you before authorities for anything arising out of the purchase.
It should also identify the property precisely — survey number, extent, boundaries, project and unit — state a validity period, and set out how it can be revoked.
Who to appoint
The honest answer is a family member you would trust with money, in the city where the property is, who can attend appointments on short notice.
- Prefer proximity. A sibling in Bengaluru is worth more than a parent in Delhi, because registration appointments are in person and are rescheduled at short notice.
- Do not appoint your broker or the seller’s representative. An attorney signing on your behalf, while also being paid by the transaction, is a conflict you have written down and signed.
- Name a substitute, or execute two. If your attorney is travelling or unwell on the day, a purchase can miss its window entirely.
- Tell them what the document does. Attorneys are routinely handed documents they have not read and asked to sign for a property they have not seen.
A power of attorney is not a title document
This matters on both sides of a transaction.
In Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana (2011), the Supreme Court held that transfers by way of sale agreement, general power of attorney and will do not convey title — only a registered deed of conveyance does. It is the reason “GPA property” became a warning rather than a discount.
So: your attorney uses the PoA to sign a sale deed, and the sale deed transfers the property to you. The PoA is the authority, not the title. And if you are ever offered a property where the seller holds only a power of attorney rather than a registered title, that is not a bargain — it is an unresolved chain.
On the day, and afterwards
- Your attorney carries the original stamped and registered PoA, proof of duty paid, their own photo ID and address proof, passport photographs, and your ID and photographs.
- Two witnesses with identification are ordinarily required; expect PAN or Aadhaar references to be asked for.
- The sale deed is executed in your name, by your attorney, and the PoA is referenced in it — keep both together permanently.
- Revoke it when the purchase is done. Revocation is by a registered deed of revocation, and it should be notified to everyone who might rely on the original — the builder, the bank, the sub-registrar’s office. A live PoA left outstanding for years is a risk with no remaining purpose. A validity period in the original document handles this automatically, which is why we recommend one.
Timing, realistically
Start six to eight weeks before you expect to register. Drafting and review takes days; notarisation and apostille takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the country and the state authority; courier takes a week; stamping and registration in India takes days more, and can slip.
The version of this that goes wrong is always the same: an agreement is signed with a completion date, and the PoA process starts afterwards. Get it moving when you start shortlisting seriously, not when you have committed to a date.
What this does not cover
- Stamp duty on powers of attorney is state-specific and has been amended in Karnataka in recent years. Published amounts differ between sources and we have deliberately not quoted a figure — confirm the current duty for your instrument with your advocate.
- Whether a particular PoA must be registered, as distinct from stamped, depends on what it authorises and on state practice. Treat registration as the default for anything touching immovable property.
- Requirements at individual sub-registrar offices and at individual lenders vary in practice. Confirm the accepted format before executing, not after.
- Section references are given as commonly cited; statutory numbering across Indian tax and property law is in a period of change. Verify before relying on a citation.
- This is general information, not legal advice. A power of attorney is a document that gives another person authority over your money and your property — have it drafted and reviewed by an advocate.
Can an NRI buy property in India without travelling?
Yes, through a power of attorney. You execute a special power of attorney where you live — before a notary and apostilled if you are in a Hague Convention country, or attested at an Indian mission if you are not — and courier the original to India. Once it is stamped and registered there, your attorney can sign the agreement and the sale deed, pay, appear before the Sub-Registrar and take possession on your behalf.
Should an NRI give a general or a special power of attorney?
Special, for a property purchase. A special power of attorney names the property, the specific acts authorised and a validity period. A general power of attorney hands open-ended authority over your Indian affairs to someone in another country, and revoking it effectively is slow and imperfect. There is no advantage to the broader document for a single transaction.
Does an NRI power of attorney need to be apostilled or attested at the consulate?
Either, depending on where you are. Section 33 of the Registration Act 1908 allows a power of attorney from a person not residing in India to be executed before and authenticated by a Notary Public, a Court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or a representative of the Central Government. In Hague Convention countries the practical route is notarisation followed by an apostille; elsewhere, attestation at the Indian mission. Check what your lender and sub-registrar will accept before you execute.
How long is a power of attorney executed abroad valid for use in India?
The document itself lasts as long as it says it does — which is why you should state a validity period. Separately, under section 18 of the Indian Stamp Act 1899, an instrument executed outside India must be stamped in India within three months of first being received here. That three-month clock runs from arrival in India, not from the date you signed, so courier the original promptly and tell your advocate when it landed.
Does a power of attorney for buying property attract heavy stamp duty?
No. The conveyance-rate charge people worry about applies to a power of attorney given for consideration that authorises the attorney to sell immovable property — an anti-avoidance provision aimed at PoAs used as substitutes for sale deeds. A PoA authorising someone to purchase on your behalf, without consideration, is a nominal-duty instrument. Amounts vary by state and have been amended in Karnataka recently, so have your advocate confirm the current figure.
Who should an NRI appoint as attorney?
Ideally a family member you would trust with money, resident in the same city as the property, who can attend appointments at short notice — registration is in person and dates move. Avoid appointing your broker or anyone paid out of the transaction; that writes a conflict of interest into the document. Consider naming a substitute, since a single attorney who is unwell or travelling can cost you the completion window.
Can I buy a property where the seller holds only a power of attorney?
Treat it as a warning rather than a discount. In Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana (2011) the Supreme Court held that sale agreement, general power of attorney and will transfers do not convey title — only a registered conveyance does. A seller holding a PoA rather than registered title has an unresolved chain, and you would be buying that problem along with the property.
How do I cancel a power of attorney once the purchase is complete?
By executing and registering a deed of revocation, and then notifying everyone who might rely on the original — the builder, the bank, the sub-registrar's office. Because notification is imperfect in practice, the better protection is to put a validity period into the original document so it expires on its own. A power of attorney left live for years after its purpose ended is a standing risk with no benefit.
Statutory references checked in September 2026: section 33 of the Registration Act 1908 is quoted from the text of the Act; section 18 of the Indian Stamp Act 1899 and the three-month stamping rule are as commonly cited in published guidance. Karnataka stamp duty on powers of attorney is state-specific, has been amended in recent years, and published amounts differ materially between sources — we have described the structure rather than quote a figure we cannot stand behind. Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana was decided in 2011 and is reported in 2012 volumes, so both years appear in citations. This is general information and not legal advice; have any power of attorney drafted and reviewed by an advocate.
Still deciding, or want this applied to your own situation?
Tell us where you are and we will come back to you. The first conversation is free, and we will tell you plainly if we are not the right people for it.
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Start it when you start shortlisting, not when you set a date.
Six to eight weeks, across two countries, with a three-month stamping clock that starts when the courier lands. It is the one part of an NRI purchase that cannot be rushed at the end.
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