Power of attorney is a legal document whereby one person gives the authority to another person referred to as an “Attorney” to act on his behalf or represent him in anything such as legal, financial or property, etc.

There are two different power of Attorneys granted Specific or General power of attorney (SPA) or (GPA)

In SPA a grantor gives the appointee very limited powers, to do a certain act, such as authority to sell property on the appointer’s behalf.

The provision to have a Power of Attorney is a blessing for NRI’s to carry out their activities in India without their presence being required. There are specific requirement for Power of Attorney executed by NRI such

• The attorney must be made on a plain paper.

• It must be attested by the Notary and stamped in the Indian High Commission/Consulate

• The Grantor of POA should place his/her signature on all pages.

• It must be witnessed by two persons other than the Notary Public.

The attorney can also authorize an attorney holder to file, sign all tax returns, manage banks, property taxes, collect rents, pay property tax, collect rents, , any other documents, enter into any contract, and to perform any contract, agreement, writing, or thing to make, sign, execute, and deliver, acknowledge any contract, agreement. The Principal can grant powers to an attorney to act on his behalf in a pending litigation, make statement on behalf of the Principal, file a case if needed, appear before the court and in case when needed he can sue on behalf of principal on the basis of the Power of Attorney.

This document must be given to very trustworthy family or friends. The deed must be drafted after a consultation from a lawyer.

The grantor must read and understand the contents of the deed/document before issuing it to any person. There have been numerous cases of misuse of the POA, hence care should be taken while drafting a POA. Doing this without proper advice and consultation is not advisable. Engaging services of a professional is suggested, the legality of the document and procedure of the same. (This article is written by Monnishaa Mahajan, Principal Attorney at Legal Help NRI and an Expert in NRI Matters.)