General Power of Attorney (GPA)
Also known as: GPA, power of attorney, PoA
A General Power of Attorney authorises another person to act on the owner's behalf - it is an instrument of agency and does not transfer ownership of property.
The Supreme Court in Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana (2011) held that GPA sales, and the SA/GPA/Will transfer pattern common in parts of India, do not convey title. A GPA remains valid for its proper purpose - allowing an agent to execute a sale deed for a principal who cannot attend - but the conveyance must still be by registered sale deed. GPA-based chains are a recurring source of title defects and require careful checking of whether the power was validly granted, still subsisting, and not revoked by the principal's death.
- What it proves
- The authority of the agent to act within the scope granted.
- What it does not prove
- A GPA does not transfer ownership. A "GPA sale" conveys nothing.
How Deedwise checks this
This check in the Deedwise Title Check Standard covers General Power of Attorney:
Related terms
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