Practical things which you thought you knew...

1. Signing of Agreement:

Deed Escrow

A deed signed by one party will be delivered to another as an "escrow" for it is not a perfect deed. It is only a mere writing (Scriptum) unless signed by all the parties and dated when the last party signs it. The deed operates from the date it is last signed.  Escrow means a simple writing not to become the deed of the expressed to be bound thereby, until some condition should have been performed. (Halsbury Laws of England, 3^rd Edn., Vol. II, p. 348). 


                                               2.Date of Agreement:

Place and Date of Execution of a Deed
We first highlight the importance of “date”. The date on which the document is executed comes immediately after the description of the deed. For example, "This Deed of Mortgage made on the first day of January, 2012". It is the date of execution which is material in a document for the purpose of application of law of limitation, maturity of period, registration of the document and passing on the title to the property as described in the document. Thus, the "date" of the document is important.Date of execution of document is inscribed on the deed. The date is not strictly speaking an essential part of the deed. A deed is perfectly valid if it is undated or the date given is an impossible one, e.g. 30^th day of February.

If no date is given oral evidence will always be admissible to prove the date of execution only it leaves necessary to prove it. However, it is of great importance to know the date from which a particular deed operates. In India there is a short period of 4 months (Section 23 of Registration Act) for its registration from the date of execution within which a deed must be presented for registration. The date is important for application of law of limitation also. In view of the extreme importance of date of execution of deed it should be regarded as an essential requirement. The date of deed is the date on which parties sign or executing it. If several parties to a deed sign the deed on different dates, in such cases, the practice is to regard the last of such dates as the date of deed

In order to avoid mistake and risk of forgery, the date be written in words and in figures. 



The place determines the territorial and legal jurisdiction of a document as to its registration and for claiming legal remedies for breaches committed by either parties to the document and also for stamping the document, as the stamp duty payable on document differs from State to State

Attestation, Registration and Stamp Duty 

Attestation: It is not necessary for an agreement to be attested by any witness. But agreements are usually attested by one witness. Where registration is desired the agreement should be attested by two witnesses

Registration: Agreements not relating to immovable property and agreements not creating an interest in immovable property are not compulsorily registrable. Only agreements creating an interest in immovable property worth more than 100 are required by law to be registered.


Stamp Duty: For the purpose of stamp duty, agreements are covered by Article 5 of Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. The stamp duty for different kinds of agreements varies from State to State. While drafting an agreement the draftsman should ascertain the proper stamp duty having regard to the changes made in the Stamp Act in the State where the agreement is executed