Most of the NRI’’s have significant financial interests and their roots in India in the form of innate property, investments made before and after becoming an NRI. Financial investments and other decisions especially in terms of real estate need the permission of the owner and in some cases of physical property it needs physical presence of the owner too. Being an NRI it becomes difficult for them to maintain the property. For that matter, they appoint the power of attorney to maintain the things of his behalf. By getting a power of attorney (POA) an NRI can easily purchase or sale the physical moveable properties, real estate or even they can represent in government institutions. For representing the person legally in all the legal matters or transactions, there should be a deed written and signed. The person who is giving the authority would be called the principal, donor or the grantor and the person who is receiving the authority would be called as the holder, done or the agent of the POA.
Types of Power of Attorney
There are two types of Power of Attorney:
General Power of Attorney: A General Power of Attorney is a general -purpose deed giving authority to a person to take care of mostly all the legal and financial affairs in India. It gives the holder all rights for all his properties in India or the listed properties and grant all rights related with handling one’s banking or financial transactions. One should be certain that the agent will act bona fide and in your best interest, then only the general power of attorney should be considered.
Special Power of Attorney: A Special power of attorney in India is granted for specific requirements or tasks only. In this type of Attorney, the power and the attorney both gets revoked and unenforceable once the task is done. The SPA protects you from the all-inclusive rights the holder has with a General Power of Attorney.
Benefits of Power of Attorney for NRI
By the Power of Attorney holder, one can do the sale and purchase of real-estate, movable properties, and can get represented at government and financial institutions.
Through POA, the holder can represent the owner in all the legal affairs or any transactions which has been mentioned in the deed, legally. You will be called the principal or grantor of the POA and the person receiving the authority will be known as the holder or agent.
When there is a POA holder one need not to cancel any profitable deals or to come to India every time you needed. The POA becomes helpful if you trust the person in India to manage the affairs on your behalf.
A Power of Attorney holder can help you with:
- Operations in NRE/NRO bank accounts
- Issuing of cheques
- Statements
- Giving standing instructions
- Managing real-estate:
- Buying, selling, mortgaging, and renting out
- Managing and repairs
- Payment of local body taxes
- Taking home loan
- Insuring the property
- Entering into business contracts and settling out the claims
- Signing your tax forms
- Routine financial operations
- Paying insurance premiums and collecting benefits or claims.
- Making deposits, buying bonds and doing investments.
- Dealing with share brokerages
- Dealing with mutual fund houses on your behalf.
A POA holder can’t open a new bank account or start a new insurance policy on your behalf. The RBI also bars a resident POA holder from sending back funds outside the India. However, POA can deposit funds in your NRE/NRO accounts of the principal.
The process of getting a power of attorney
- The important points should be written by the NRI on a piece of paper in understandable English so that the things would be done easily by the POA holder. If the NRI is not in India, the step of having it on a legal paper can be evaded and the same can be done on an A4 size paper.
- This NRI have to get the Power of Attorney attested by the Indian Embassy/Consulate in the country where they are residing. This has to be done together with two witnesses.
- This Indian Embassy/Consulate attested POA has to send to India through the postal services. These POA’s have to be stamped and deliver judgment within three months of receipt in India.
- The person in India has to make POA legal and valid and the same should be registered. However, under the Registration Act, it is not necessary for a POA to be registered in cases of general POA’s however to register the same when dealing with immovable property is a general practice.
- Through the address of the POA holder the government office is to be figured out and not the NRI’s address.
- Documents usually required are – affidavit, the envelop in which the POA was mail, passport photocopies of the ones who have created the POA, address and ID proof of the one who is holding the POA, document regarding the relationship between the POA executor and POA holder, original POA etc. Generally, the POA is registered and can be obtained in 15 days.
Conclusion
The power of attorney acts as a medium of enabling the transactions while living in abroad. POA helps to reduce the stress of managing the Indian assets from a foreign land. Decision taken by the attorney holder within the limits of the authority given is binding on the principal.