Power of Attorney for India - Where can I buy Stamped Paper?

Stamped Paper for the Power of Attorney for India

Many clients who wish to appoint someone to act on their behalf in India, especially for property related transactions, normally appoint that person through a general power of attorney or special power of attorney. If they were to prepare and sign a power of a power of attorney in India, the power of attorney would normally be prepared on stamped paper. Stamped paper is a form of 'pre-paid' tax or duty and would normally be available from government offices or licensed vendors/suppliers in the state that is relevant to the property or the transaction. However, if you are in Australia and need to appoint someone to act on your behalf in India, what do you do?

The general advice for clients who are in Australia and who need to appoint someone to act on their behalf in India is to have the power of attorney prepared for them in India (preferably by a lawyer or someone who knows what is required so that the document will be legally valid in India). Whether they then print that power of attorney on stamped paper and send the original hard copy to you or they just email a copy of the power of attorney to you is a question of logistics.

Since the power of attorney attracts stamp duty in India, duty will eventually need to be paid and so using stamped paper is one way of ensuring that this requirement is satisfied. The trouble with preparing the power of attorney on stamped paper is that the stamped paper will need to be purchased in India. The delivery time and cost of sending that stamped paper from India (whether the contents of the power of attorney have been printed on it or not) may mean this is option is relatively expensive and involves substantial delays - especially when compared to the option of just emailing the document.

In fact, while many clients have their original power of attorney printed on stamped paper sent to them by their lawyers in India, more and more clients are relying on the internet or email to receive documents - especially the power of attorney. These days it is quite common for clients to receive an email from their lawyer in India (or in many cases it is their bank) containing the contents of the power of attorney. Those clients then print the power of attorney on normal A4 paper, which is the standard paper used in Australia.

Most cases require the power of attorney signed in Australia but used in India to be notarised and sometimes it also needs to be legalised (involving an apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and stamping from VFS/Indian Consulate). Section 18 of the Indian Stamp Act 1899 provides that 'every instrument chargeable with duty executed only out of India and not being a bill of exchange or promissory note, may be stamped within three months after it has been first received in India.' This means that if the power of attorney was NOT printed on stamped paper, the duty must be paid after the power of attorney arrives in India. Unlike stamped paper which is 'pre-paid', stamping on a document that is not printed on stamped paper is 'post-paid'.

Edit 2017 (see updated video)

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Apostille for documents going to India

VFS.Global provides consular services

Clients who have used our services before know that we notarise many documents intended for India. Sometimes those documents are just notarised and returned to India without needing further attestation. Other times, clients are asked to also have their documents attested by the Indian Consulate. VFS.Global provides consular services on behalf of the Indian Consulate, including attestation of documents going to India. VFS provides clear instructions as to their requirements to attest documents to be used in India.

For documents that have been notarised, VFS also require the documents to be stamped with an apostille. In Australia, the apostille will only be issued by the Australian Government (through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or DFAT) on documents that are original government documents or documents that have been notarised by a notary public.

We work closely with DFAT to assist clients with notarising documents and having those documents stamped with an apostille (or an authentication as the case may require).

What is an apostille?

In Australia, an apostille is a certificate issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) certifying that a document has been notarised by a notary public. An apostille will only be recognised in a country that is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (officially known as the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents). For more information, please contact DFAT on 02 9207 6904.

For more information, also visit

• http://smartraveller.gov.au/services/legalising-documents.html or
• http://www.dfat.gov.au/sydney/authentications.html

If the intended destination country is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, then you may need to have your document ‘authenticated’ by DFAT once it has been notarised by a notary public. See the related FAQs: What’s the Apostille Convention? and What’s ‘authentication’?

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Notarisation shouldn't be this easy, should it?

Making an appointment to see a notary public is easy

One of the biggest complaints that we hear from our regular clients is that it is difficult to make an appointment to see a notary public - that is why they keep coming back.

As a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney, we pride our selves in offering readily available and easily accessible notary public services to the community. In many cases, our clients are in need of urgent assistance because whatever is happening overseas needs to happen as soon as possible. Taking into account the processing times for other steps in the process, such as stamping with an apostille in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or legalisation through the Indian Consulate or VFS, as well as the delivery times to India, documents need to be notarised as soon as possible and as quickly as possible without delay. That is where we can assist.

With our offices located in the heart of the Sydney metropolitan area and available appointments to attend to urgent requests, there is no other choice when considering who will assist you with your notary requirements.

Being familiar with the various requirements for documents intended for India is an important factor deciding who you should rely on for advice and guidance. Over the years, we have become familiar with the specific requirements of affidavits and applications under the Hindu Marriage Act, the various forms of the general power of attorney and special power of attorney required by banks and other parties in property transactions, changing your name or details on your passport and a variety of other specific tasks undertaken by the Indian Consulate or VFS including the Indian Drivers Licence Verification (IDLV) process.

IDLV is one of the unique processes that exists for Indian citizens in Australia who intend to convert their Indian Drivers Licence to an Australian drivers licence. Accordingly, we have developed a fixed fee cost for notarisation as well as authentication through DFAT with the added pricing flexibility for clients to arrange for authentication themselves should they wish. This kind of service offering is as unique as the requirement, which means it is tailored to the specific needs of the Indian community in Sydney.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Indian Drivers Licence Verification - Notary required ONLY for different names

WARNING: from January 2015, VFS has changed its requirements and will no longer accept documents that have been authenticated. Documents must now be stamped with an APOSTILLE from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Notary assistance only required if your name is different

In response to a number of recent enquiries regarding what we provide in relation to Indian Drivers Licence Verification (IDLV), we advise the following points:

• If you have an Indian Drivers Licence and you wish to convert that licence to an Australian state driving licence, you may need to satisfy the local driving authority that your licence is valid and that you are the person who holds that licence.
• VFS provides the service of Indian Drivers Licence Verification to Indian Citizens to assist them in converting their drivers licence. However, if the name on your drivers licence and the name on your Indian Passport, in addition to the 'normal' IDLV process outlined by VFS, you also need to either (1) provide an original notarised affidavit from a court in India (which probably requires you to be personally present in the court in India for this to be issued to you); or (2) provide an affidavit/certificate from a notary public in Australia which has also been authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Accordingly, as a leading notary public service in Sydney we provide assistance to our Indian clients for the Option 2 in which we will prepare a notary certificate to verify that the person referred to in their Indian Drivers Licence and in their Indian Passport are the one and the same person.

We appreciate that the naming conventions can be different in different countries and generally use other forms of reference such as physical comparison between the photographs on each document against the person attending our office, the date of birth appearing on each document as well as other consistent information such as father/parents names (which often appear on Indian identification documents). If we are satisfied with all checks, we will prepare a notary certification, which in our experience has been accepted by VFS for the countless number of previous applications and clients that we have assisted over the years.

In addition to the notary certificate, we also assist some clients with obtaining the authentication through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Authentication from DFAT is verification that we are a registered notary public, and this authentication is a requirement by VFS as part of their process. Sometimes clients do not require our help for this part and will do it themselves, especially if they are working in Sydney CBD, they are not working or otherwise have the time to spare. Our flexible service offering includes both the notary certificate as well as the notary certificate and authentication through DFAT.

Please note that if the name on your Indian Drivers Licence and the name on your Indian Passport are the same, you do NOT need the notary public service. You should then make enquiries directly with VFS for the Indian Driving Licence Verification.

The notary public service for Indian Driving Licence Verification is part of the VFS process it is not a replacement for VFS.


To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Do I need Stamped Paper for my General Power of Attorney?

Stamping the General Power of Attorney

What is a General Power of Attorney

The General Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows someone to authorise someone else to do certain things on their behalf. The power granted by the General Power of Attorney is generally limited to financial dealings, such as transacting property or handling bank accounts and loans.

If you have property in India but you are living in Australia, you may need to appoint someone in India to look after your property and do certain things on your behalf. The way in which you can do this is through a General Power of Attorney. In most cases, your lawyer (or maybe even your bank) and provide you with the General Power of Attorney for you to sign in Australia without requiring you to travel back to India. If you sign the General Power of Attorney in Australia it must be notarised by a notary public.

Depending on the specific requirements and intended use of your General Power of Attorney, you may also need to consider whether it must be countersigned by the Indian Consulate, or with an apostille or other authentication from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The requirements can vary depending on who you might be dealing with in India, however there remains a very formal process in Australia if you were to do it properly.

Understanding the process and especially the timing of the process is important in ensuring that your General Power of Attorney is completed in time to meet the requirements of your transaction in India. Unfortunately, many clients are only aware of the requirements too late and by the time they seek notary public services, the document should have been returned to India 'yesterday'.

You can find more information regarding the General Power of Attorney for India in the articles contained in this website.

What is stamped paper?

Stamped paper is a type of paper used to write legal documents. Any taxes or duties owed to the government for that legal document has already been prepaid as shown by the 'stamp' on the stamped paper. In our experience, it is very common for documents such as the General Power of Attorney used in India and prepared in India to be printed on stamped paper.

Stamped paper does not exist in Australia. Stamped paper is a form of pre-paid duty, but in Australia, if a document attracts some sort of duty it must be submitted to the relevant state's duty office for payment of duty and stamping. Further duty whether pre-paid or post-paid duty, paid in Australia has no relevance to the obligation to pay duty in India. Accordingly, if your General Power of Attorney is going to India, you will need to buy the stamped paper in India. However, if the General Power of Attorney is just emailed to you and printed on 'normal' A4 paper (which is usually the case in Australia), then the person who wants to rely on that document in India must pay the tax or duty in India and have the General Power of Attorney stamped accordingly.

Some clients have mistakenly used Australian postage stamps on their document thinking that this satisfies the stamping requirement for India. It does not.

Do I need Stamped Paper for my General Power of Attorney?

No. If you are signing the General Power of Attorney in Australia, and your lawyer (or your bank) has provided the General Power of Attorney to you by email for you to print in Australia - it is unlikely that you will be able to print it on stamped paper. No problem. You can still print your General Power of Attorney on A4 paper and have it properly notarised by a notary public. Not printing your General Power of Attorney on stamped paper just means that the duties or taxes owing on the General Power of Attorney would need to be paid within 3 months from when the document arrives in India and before it can be used.

What next?

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at http://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/tag/india/. For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see http://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Signing the Vakalatnama in Australia

Appointing a lawyer in India - Vakalatnama

If you're involved in legal proceedings in India and you need to appoint a lawyer to represent you and plead your case in the courts, your lawyer will probably ask you to sign a Vakalatnama.

The Vakalatnama is essentially evidence of your authority for your lawyer (generally referred to being your 'attorney') to act on your behalf, appear in the court on your behalf, prepare and file documents on your behalf and do all things generally required to represent you in court and in those legal proceedings.

Although we provide you with an example below, generally your lawyer should prepare the Vakalatnama for you (including all of the details rather than just provide you with a blank form) for your signature. If you are in Australia but you need to send the Vakalatnama to India, you will need to have your signature witnessed by a notary public and the notary public will need to notarise your document accordingly.

Often the wording used in the Vakalatnama will be as follows:

KNOW ALL to whom these present shall come that I/We [your name] the above named [your role in the litigation] do hereby appoint (herein after called the advocate/s) to be my/our Advocate in the above noted case authorized him :-

1. To act, appear and plead in the above-noted case in this Court or in any other Court in which the same may be tried or heard and also in the appellate Court including High Court subject to payment of fees separately for each Court by me/ us.
2. To sign, file verify and present pleadings, appeals cross objections or petitions for execution review, revision, withdrawal, compromise or other petitions or affidavits or other documents as may be deemed necessary or proper for the prosecution of the said case in all its stages.
3. To file and take back documents to admit and/or deny the documents of opposite party.
4. To withdraw or compromise the said case or submit to arbitration any differences or disputes that may arise touching or in any manner relating to the said case.
5. To take execution proceedings.
6. The deposit, draw and receive money, cheques, cash and grant receipts thereof and to do all other acts and things which may be necessary to be done for the progress and in the course of the prosecution of the said case.
7. To appoint and instruct any other Legal Practioner, authorizing him to exercise the power and authority hereby conferred upon the Advocate whenever he may think it to do so and to sign the Power of Attorney on our behalf.

And I/We the undersigned do hereby agree to ratify and confirm all acts done by the Advocate or his substitute in the matter as my/our own acts, as if done by me/us to all intents and purposes.

And I/We undertake that I/we or my/our duly authorized agent would appear in the Court on all hearings and will inform the Advocates for appearance when the case is called.

And I/we undersigned do hereby agree not to hold the advocate or his substitute responsible for the result of the said case. The adjournment costs whenever ordered by the Court shall be of the Advocate which he shall receive and retain himself.

And I/we the undersigned do hereby agree that in the event of the whole or part of the fee agreed by me/us to be paid to the Advocate remaining unpaid he shall be entitled to withdraw from the prosecution of the said case until the same is paid up. The fee settled is only for the above case and above Court. I/We hereby agree that once the fee is paid. I/we will not be entitled for the refund of the same in any case whatsoever. If the case lasts for more than three years, the advocate shall be entitled for additional fee equivalent to half of the agreed fee for every addition three years or part thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I/We do hereunto set my /our hand to these presents the contents of which have been understood by me/us on this [day] day of [month] [year].

Accepted subject to the terms of fees

We disclaim any liability arising in connection with the use of these documents or reliance on their contents either in original or altered form. We give no warranties and we make no representation in respect of the documents including, without limitation, any warranties as to quality, standard or legal efficacy.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.