NEW — 2025-26 POLICY UPDATE
SROs Now Scrutinise Every GPA Before Registering a Deed
If you are buying or selling property in Delhi through a General Power of Attorney holder, Sub Registrar Offices are now required to conduct detailed scrutiny of the GPA document before allowing registration. Incomplete or improper GPAs will cause rejection at the SRO.
Background: Following the Supreme Court's Suraj Lamp ruling (2011) and subsequent Delhi High Court orders, the Delhi Revenue Department issued enhanced scrutiny circulars requiring SROs to verify GPA validity before registration.
Reported: Indian Express, June 2026 (Revenue Dept Stamp Duty Circular)
Why GPA Scrutiny Was Tightened
The root cause is decades of abuse of the GPA system in Delhi's property market. GPAs were being used to:
- Avoid paying stamp duty (GPA attracted lower duty than sale deed)
- Transfer multiple unauthorised colony and DDA properties without proper registration
- Create chains of transactions that made it impossible to trace the true owner
- Execute deeds on behalf of deceased principals (a GPA is revoked by death of the principal)
What SROs Now Check for Every GPA-Based Transaction
- Principal still alive — A GPA is automatically revoked upon death of the principal. SROs require proof that the principal was alive when the deed is being executed.
- GPA is still valid — Has it been revoked? Is it within its validity period (if any specified)?
- GPA grants the specific power — The GPA must explicitly authorise the attorney to execute, sell, or present for registration the specific type of deed being registered.
- GPA is properly stamped and registered — After the 2001 amendment, a GPA relating to immovable property for consideration must itself be registered.
- Chain of title is clear — Is the original owner's title traceable? Are there any encumbrances?
- GPA is not a substitute sale — If the GPA appears to be part of a SA/GPA/WILL transaction (effectively an attempt to transfer property without a sale deed), it will be refused.
Checklist for GPA-Based Registration in Delhi (2026)
📋 Documents Required
- Original GPA (stamped and registered)
- Proof of principal's identity and address
- Recent proof of principal being alive (Aadhaar, letter, presence)
- Chain of title documents from original owner
- Aadhaar and PAN of attorney-holder
- Aadhaar and PAN of buyer/other party
⚠ Common Rejection Reasons
- GPA not registered (post-2001)
- Principal already deceased
- GPA does not mention the specific property
- GPA does not authorise sale/registration
- GPA appears to be SA/GPA/WILL transaction