Time for Presenting Documents, and Delay
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Syllabus topic 4.1, "Time for presenting documents [Section 23]"; "Provision where delay in presentation is unavoidable [Section 25]"
Pages 310 to 313 of 378
In one line
A document must be taken for registration within four months of execution, and if urgent necessity or an unavoidable accident causes delay, the Registrar may accept it up to four months late on payment of a fine of up to ten times the registration fee.
In exam wording: section 23 provides that, subject to sections 24, 25 and 26, no document other than a will shall be accepted for registration unless presented for that purpose to the proper officer within four months from the date of its execution.
Section 23: the four-month rule
The period is four months and it runs from the date of execution, that is from the date of signing, not from the date the parties choose to act.
Wills are excluded, and section 27 confirms that a will may be presented or deposited at any time.
The proviso deals with decrees: a copy of a decree or order may be presented within four months from the day on which the decree or order was made, or, where it is appealable, within four months from the day on which it becomes final. The alternative is sensible, since an appealable decree may be undone.
Section 24: several executants at different times
Where there are several persons executing a document at different times, the document may be presented for registration and re-registration within four months from the date of each execution.
So a document signed by three people over six weeks does not have a single deadline. Each signature starts its own four months, and presentation within four months of any execution is good as to that execution.
Section 25: unavoidable delay
Sub-section (1). If, owing to urgent necessity or unavoidable accident, a document executed, or a copy of a decree or order made, in India is not presented within the prescribed time, the Registrar, in cases where the delay does not exceed four months, may direct that, on payment of a fine not exceeding ten times the amount of the proper registration-fee, the document shall be accepted for registration.
Four limits, and each is examinable:
The cause must be urgent necessity or unavoidable accident. Mere forgetfulness or convenience is not enough.
The outer limit is a further four months, so the longest possible period from execution is eight months.
The officer is the Registrar, not the Sub-Registrar.
The price is a fine up to ten times the proper registration fee.
Sub-section (2). An application for such a direction may be lodged with a Sub-Registrar, who must forthwith forward it to the Registrar to whom he is subordinate. So the party need not travel to the Registrar's office; he applies where he would have registered.
Time for Presenting Documents, and Delay
Section 26: documents executed outside India
Where a document purporting to have been executed by all or any of the parties out of India is not presented within the prescribed time, the registering officer, if satisfied:
(a) that the instrument was so executed; and (b) that it has been presented for registration within four months after its arrival in India,
may, on payment of the proper registration-fee, accept it for registration.
Note the differences from section 25. There is no fine, only the proper fee; the decision is the registering officer's, not the Registrar's; and the four months runs from the document's arrival in India rather than from execution. The concession is granted because a party abroad cannot be expected to meet an Indian deadline, and the relevant delay is in transit.
Section 23A: re-registration where the presenter was not empowered
Where a document requiring registration has been accepted for registration from a person not duly empowered to present it, and registered, any person claiming under it may, within four months from his first becoming aware that the registration is invalid, present it for re-registration in the office of the Registrar of the district in which it was originally registered.
On being satisfied that it was so accepted, the Registrar proceeds to re-register it as if it had not been previously registered, and as if the presentation were made in time. The document, if duly re-registered, is deemed to have been duly registered for all purposes from the date of its original registration.
The section rescues an innocent party from a defect of authority he may not have known about, and the retrospective effect is the point: the original date is preserved, so priorities are not disturbed.
Section 27: wills
A will may at any time be presented for registration or deposited in the manner provided by the Act. There is no time limit at all, which follows from a will speaking only from death.
A worked example
Sameer and Trupti execute a sale deed of a plot at Beed on 1 March.
By when must it be presented? By 1 July, four months from execution, under section 23.
They present it on 20 July. Out of time. But if the delay was due to urgent necessity or unavoidable accident, the Registrar may, under section 25, direct that it be accepted on payment of a fine up to ten times the proper registration fee, the delay being within four months of the deadline.
They present it on 20 December. The delay exceeds four months beyond the deadline, so section 25 cannot help. The document cannot be registered.
Time for Presenting Documents, and Delay
How do they apply? They may lodge the application with the Sub-Registrar, who must forward it forthwith to the Registrar.
Change the facts. Trupti signed on 1 March and Sameer on 15 April. Under section 24 the document may be presented within four months of each execution, so Sameer's signature runs to 15 August.
Change again. Trupti executed the deed in Dubai on 1 March and it reached India on 1 September. Under section 26 the registering officer may accept it if presented within four months of its arrival in India, that is by 1 January, on payment of the proper fee and no fine.
Change again. The deed was presented by a man holding a power of attorney that turns out to have been revoked, and it was registered. Under section 23A, a person claiming under the deed may, within four months of first learning that the registration was invalid, present it for re-registration before the district Registrar, and once re-registered it is deemed registered from the date of the original registration.
And a will made on 1 March? It may be presented at any time, under sections 23 and 27.
What it does NOT mean
The four months runs from execution, not from the date the parties decide to register.
Section 25 is not a general extension. It requires urgent necessity or unavoidable accident.
It is not unlimited. The further period is four months, making eight in all.
It is not free. A fine of up to ten times the registration fee may be imposed.
The Sub-Registrar cannot grant it. He forwards the application to the Registrar.
Section 26 involves no fine, and its four months runs from arrival in India.
A will has no deadline at all.
Re-registration under section 23A is not a fresh start in time. The document is deemed registered from the original date.
Distinctions
| Section | Situation | Period | Who decides | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | The ordinary case | Four months from execution | The registering officer accepts | The proper fee |
| 23 proviso | A copy of a decree or order | Four months from the decree, or from when it becomes final if appealable | ||
| 24 | Several executants at different times | Four months from each execution | ||
| 25 | Delay from urgent necessity or unavoidable accident | A further four months, eight in all | The Registrar | Fine up to ten times the fee |
| 26 | Executed outside India | Four months from arrival in India | The registering officer | The proper fee, no fine |
| 23A | Presented by a person not duly empowered | Four months from first becoming aware | The district Registrar | Re-registration, effective from the original date |
| 27 | A will | Any time |
Time for Presenting Documents, and Delay
Quick revision
- s.23: four months from execution, for every document except a will. A copy of a decree, four months from the decree or from when it becomes final if appealable.
- s.24: several executants at different times, four months from each execution.
- s.25: urgent necessity or unavoidable accident, the Registrar may accept within a further four months on a fine of up to ten times the proper registration fee; the application may be lodged with the Sub-Registrar, who forwards it.
- s.26: executed out of India, accepted if presented within four months of arrival in India, on the proper fee and no fine.
- s.23A: registration on presentation by a person not duly empowered may be cured by re-registration within four months of learning of the invalidity, and takes effect from the original date.
- s.27: a will may be presented or deposited at any time.
Test yourself
1. Within what time must a sale deed be presented for registration? Within four months from the date of its execution, under section 23.
2. Does that period apply to a will? No. Section 23 excepts a will, and section 27 allows a will to be presented for registration or deposited at any time.
3. What must be shown to obtain relief under section 25, and what are the limits? That the delay was owing to urgent necessity or unavoidable accident. The Registrar may then accept the document where the delay does not exceed four months, on payment of a fine not exceeding ten times the proper registration fee.
4. Who may grant that relief, and where is the application lodged? The Registrar grants it. The application may be lodged with a Sub-Registrar, who must forthwith forward it to the Registrar to whom he is subordinate.
5. A deed is executed in London and reaches India six months later. Can it be registered? Yes, under section 26, if the registering officer is satisfied that it was executed out of India and that it has been presented within four months after its arrival in India, on payment of the proper registration fee and without any fine.
6. Three people sign a document on different dates. When must it be presented? Under section 24 it may be presented for registration and re-registration within four months from the date of each execution.
7. What does section 23A cure, and from what date does the cured registration take effect? It cures registration on presentation by a person not duly empowered to present the document. On re-registration the document is deemed to have been duly registered for all purposes from the date of its original registration.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.