What is Power of Attorney? A Power of Attorney is a legal document which allows an individual or person to act on behalf of another individual or person. In simple words, a person authorises another person to act on his or her behalf as his legal representative. An NRI who wishes to create Power of Attorney can easily get a Power of Attorney from the Indian authority by following some rules and regulations as prescribed for the NRIs. A Power of Attorney provides NRI to authorise his or her friends or relatives or family members to represent him or act on his or her behalf as his legal representative to conduct all necessary and important legal formalities in cases of sale or purchase of properties and also it also empowers the NRI such that he or she is not necessary to be physically present during the transactions.

Types of Power of Attorney:

1. General Power of Attorney – This type of Power of Attorney empowers the agent or attorney to act as a legal representative of the principal and can act almost the same as the principal. An agent is empowered to open a financial account or manage the financial matters and personal finances too. A power of attorney expires when the principal passes away or the principal revokes the Power of Attorney and so on.
2. Durable Power of Attorney and Non-durable Power of Attorney –It is seen that Power of Attorney expires after the death of the principal but if the principal wants then Power of Attorney will continue to have effect after his or her death. The principal has to include in the Power of Attorney document that the PoA will continue after his or her death also and these types of Power of Attorney is called Durable Power of Attorney. If the principal does not include such demand in the Power of Attorney then the Power of attorney is known as Non-durable Power of attorney.
3. Special power of Attorney – This is another Power of attorney which provides special power to the attorney or agent. This PoA is given in certain cases to do a task or work and it expires after the task or work is completed.

Some of the Powers of the Agent or Attorney:

1. He or she can make decisions on financial matters.
2. He or she can make gifts of money.
3. The agent can make healthcare decisions.
4. He or she can even recommend a guardian.

Details required in the Power of Attorney Deed:

1. Name, Age, Indian Address, Foreign Address and the occupation of the individual or person who is creating the Power of Attorney Deed.
2. Name, Age, Address, Father’s Name, Occupation of the person or individual in whose favour the Power of Attorney is created and the relation of the principal with the attorney or agent.
3. Specific or General purpose of the Power of Attorney.
4. Time at which the Power of Attorney will come into effect.
5. It also requires signatures of all the parties involved in the Power of Attorney Deed.

Steps involved in the Drafting and Registration of Power of Attorney Deed:

1. There are 2 ways to draft the Power of Attorney Deed, one is through online and another one is by approaching a lawyer. The details required in the PoA while drafting the PoA is mentioned above.
2. The Power of Attorney Deed is then attested by the Indian embassy or Notary in the country.
3. Now, the Power of Attorney is signed by the person or individual who makes the deed and it should be signed on all the pages of the PoA.
4. The Power of Attorney deed is then sent to the person who resides in India by post or courier.
5. The attorney or agent should take the documents to get it registered from the Sub-Registrar Office or Sub-Divisional Magistrate Office. The individual or the person involved in PoA has to pay the required registration charges or fees. After the payment of the registration charges or fees, the process for registration will start and after verifying the documents, the Sub-registrar issues the registered Power of Attorney.

Two ways to execute the Power of Attorney by NRIs:

1. Legalisation –What happens in here is that the signatures of the Notary or judge before whom the Power of Attorney is executed are required to be authenticated by the recognised or authorised representative of the Indian embassy or consulate. It is also said that notarising a PoA deed from the competent officer of the Indian embassy is also considered as a valid notary or this document will serve as a valid document. Stamp duty should be paid according to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and the document has to be stamped within 3 months from the date of the receipt.
2. Apostalisation – This point says that the Power of Attorney which is created outside India is to be proven through the process of Apostalisation and this is controlled by the Hague Convention of 1961. This is also known as Superlegalisation. Apostille is a certificate which verifies the signatures and other relevant things of the individual who has authenticated the document. But this PoA deed should comply with the Indian Laws such as the Indian Registration Act, 1908 and the Power of Attorney Act, 1882.

So, we can follow the above steps and information to create and register the Power of Attorney for NRIs.

Conclusion:

All the necessary information is provided in this article. If any NRIs think that he needs an attorney or agent to handle his or her property then he or she can apply for the same if he wants. The principal (NRIs) has to follow the above-mentioned steps to create Power of Attorney in India. But he should be remembered that an attorney or agent cannot sale a property. An attorney or agent can rent the property or use it according to the purpose which is included in the Power of Attorney document. It is always better to consult with a lawyer to create a Power of Attorney. You should seek professional legal help for any legal procedures due to the high stakes and risks involved. For professional legal help, contact [email protected], leave a comment below or contact here.