Venkat (NA) 14 February 2012

How to revoke the registered gift geed

Respected members of the forum,

I am from Andhra Pradesh. I have executed a gift deed for transferring agricultural land to my cousin who is an NRI and the same deed is registered in local sub-registar office in 2011. My cousin has also got revenue records mutated and pattadar passbook is also issued.

But now I came across the FEMA rules and per that agricultural land cannot be gifted to NRI's.
The link to rules is here https://www.rbi.org.in/scriptts/FAQView.aspx?Id=33

Now I have the following queries regarding the above gift deed.

1) Is the gift deed is void and invalid by nature of it?

2) How do I revoke the above gift deed?

3) Can I take the possession of the above gifted agricultural land immediately without any court decree etc as the gift is not valid as per FEMA rules?

4) Do I need to send notices to the sub-registar and the local Tahshildar (MRO) to cancel the pattadar passbook already issued to my cousin and also make changes in the registration records?

Thank you in advance.

Reply Follow

5 Replies

Adv.R.P.Chugh (Advocate/Legal Consultant (rpchughadvocatesupremecourt@hotmail.com)) 14 February 2012

Dear Querist, Sorry no answers for the time being, Experts are fighting for a larger cause. Experts would be back. God Bless you till then

Venkat (NA) 17 February 2012

Dear Learned Members of the Forum!

Please reply to my above questions.

Thanks in advance.

Venkat

Hemant Agarwal (ha21@rediffmail.com Mumbai : 9820174108) 17 February 2012

. An act done in violation of any Law, is termed as null & void ab-initio. Hence IF FEMA prohibits (needs confirmation) NRI to hold agricultural land, THEN the gift deed is invalid and the subsequent mutation entries in the revenue records are also invalid.

2. To rectify the same, put an applicationl before the district collector, for rectification of the mutation entries and reversal of the same.

3. Apply to RBI for special permission to allow the NRI to ratify the Gift Deed, citing family relations with the NRI.

4. IF not done, then the NRI may be penalised for violation of FEMA, by RBI, that is If RBI is informed of the same.

Keep Smiling .... Hemant Agarwal

Venkat (NA) 17 February 2012

Hemant Agarwal,

Please go through the link given for the facts of the FEMA rules. It clearly says NRI cannot purchase or be gifted agriculture land.

Thanks for taking time to reply my queries. So if I correctly understood your answers, this is what you are saying

1) The gift deed is already null & void and there NO is further action needed to revoke it or make it invalid

2) I only have to apply to the collector/revenue officer/registar to reverse the mutation entries.

With regards to your answers my further queries are

a) I am assuming I can take possesion of the gifted land immediately with out giving any notice/initimation to the donee (my cousin), am I right?

b) So there are chances that my cousin can apply to RBI for special permission so that the gift deed can be made legal and valid. Is this right?

Thank you sir.

Ashish Chakravarty (Advocate) 17 February 2012

You & your coz have executed a Deed which is void as per the applicable laws of the land however on basis of the same an order of mutation have also been procured by both of you, now although it is void ab initio i would advise you to get a declaratory decree in your favor from a competent revenue court by filing a suit for declaration, revocation per se of such deed is not possible because the document is void ab initio which in other words mean that it does not exist, so something which does not exist cannot be revoked, are you getting me? Simpler way would be to file a suit for declaration so that the Deed is taken care of once and for all and if you want things to be even more simpler just file a review application before the Mutating Authority as the order of mutation is not good in the eyes of law and place these FEMA rules before the PO, that will take care of the Revenue entry and it will be restored in your name.