A power of attorney (PoA), the written authorisation given by the owner of an immovable property to another person to act on his behalf, will have to be compulsorily registered, according to amendments proposed by the Union government to the over-century-old Registration Act.

The department of land resources (DoLR) under the ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) on Tuesday unveiled the Registration Bill 2025 with several amendments to the law of 1908.

The Registration Act 1908 provides for the registration of documents relating to the transfer of property, such as deeds of sale or gift, deeds of mortgage and leases.

In the present Act, the registration is voluntary for a PoA. A retired bureaucrat of MoRD said that non-registration of PoA has led to an increase in disputes of several kinds.

“Multiple people are given PoAs for a particular piece of property, and they tend to cheat gullible buyers. Poor computerisation and lack of proper recording add to the disputes,” he said.

The draft seeks to expand the scope of the law, mandating compulsory registration of agreements to sell, PoA, sale certificates issued by competent authorities, equitable mortgage arrangements, and certain instruments based on court orders. The Bill has provisions to support online registration, including electronic presentation and admission of documents, issuance of electronic registration certificates, and digital maintenance of records. It provides for the use of Aadhaar-based authentication for individuals seeking registration of deeds.

Under the amendments, the state government will appoint an adjudicating authority not below the rank of the inspector-general of registration. The registration of any document under this Act may be cancelled by the authority after being reasonably satisfied that the document was registered based on false information or the document was registered in contravention of the provisions of this Act.

The Adjudicating Authority may cancel the registration of any document upon a complaint made by an aggrieved party or suo moto, or by issuing notice to the parties that have executed the document.