Is it compulsory to register an Earnest Receipt

It gives details on how the seller got the property, at what price he is selling the property, assurance to the purchaser that the property is free from any encumbrances , indemnity clauses etc. A sale deed is executed by both the seller and the purchaser, and is registered in the office of the registrar. It is executed subsequent to the agreement to sell, and is based on the terms and conditions contained in and agreed upon while entering into the agreement.

An agreement to sell must contain names of the parties, their residential addresses, age, date and place of execution of the agreement, competence of the parties to enter into an agreement , rights and liabilities of the parties , brief narration with particulars of documents and how the seller got the property, exact location and descripttion of the property. An agreement to sell records the understanding reached between the parties , which is binding on both. This agreement protects the interests of both parties.

Sir,

the above query was well answered by Mr. Ramacharry, as well as by Mr. R.Ramachandran one of our lawyersclubindia's expert previously which I have taken the extracts and produced it below.  Kindly refer this.

" Section 17(1A) of the Registration Act, is against the interest of the buyer in the instant case since there is delivery of possession of the immovable property in favour of the buyer, which has all the trappings of the provisions of Section 53-A of the TPA Act, since the Agreement to Sell in those conditions is required to be Compulsorily Registrable.

Non-registration of the said document will definitely be hit by the provisions of Section 49 of the Registration Act, namely, the said Unregistered Agreement to sell will be not be admitted in evidence and therefore the buyer will not be able to succeed in suit for specific performance.

Also,

Section 17(2)(v) provides that a document, not in itself creating a right in immovable property of the value of Rs.100/- and upwards, but merely creating a right to obtain another document which will, when executed, create any such right, need not be registered. An agreement for sale in the usual form acknowledging receipt of earnest and providing for the execution of a regular sale-deed on payment of the balance purchase-money, is a document of this kind.

If it was simple Agreement to sell without delivery of possession, Sec. 17(2)(v) would have been applicable and consequently there would have been need for registration."

Hope these answers given by Mr.  R.Ramachandran would be sufficient to clear your doubt.