A will is a written document a person makes to describe how their assets and wealth are to be distributed among their descendants. The making and execution of wills is governed by the Indian Succession Act of 1925, which applies to all religions except Islam.
Drafting a last will and testament ensures that your property is safely and securely distributed amongst your beneficiaries, as per your wishes. This would avoid intestacy and minimize the chances of a dispute over right of inheritance and avoid long-drawn court processes. You need to name an executor (who will carry out all the proceedings of the will) and a legal guardian for your children if they are minors.
To know more, do read the Nyaaya explainer on Wills.
The purpose of registering transfer of immovable property is to record the signing of the document. The ownership and transfer become legal only after registration, i.e. the ownership of the property is rightfully transferred only upon registration before the sub-registrar. Another significant benefit of paying registration fees and stamp duty is that the same are eligible for tax exemption under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The rates of income-tax and corporate taxes are available in the Finance Act passed by the Parliament every year. You can also check your tax liability and calculate the amount of income tax you have to pay by using the free online tax calculator available at the Income Tax Department website.
The Budget 2020 has given taxpayers the option to choose between:
- existing income tax regime with applicable income tax exemptions and deductions or
- a new tax regime with slashed income tax rates and new income tax slabs, but no tax exemptions and deductions.
Given below are the income tax rates for individuals:
Old/existing tax rates
| Net Income Range |
Income Tax Rate for Assessment Year 2020-21 |
| Up to Rs. 2,50,000 |
No tax |
| Rs. 2,50,000 to Rs. 5,00,000 |
5% |
| Rs. 5,00,000 to Rs. 10,00,000 |
20% |
| Above Rs. 10,00,000 |
30% |
New reduced tax rates(( The Finance Act, 2020 (Rates applicable from April 1, 2020))
| Net Income Range |
Income Tax Rate (optional, applicable from April 1, 2020) |
| Up to Rs. 2,50,000 |
No tax |
| Rs. 2,50,001 to Rs. 5,00,000 |
5% |
| Rs. 5,00,001 to Rs. 7,50,000 |
10% |
| Rs. 7,50,001 to Rs. 10,00,000 |
15% |
| Rs. 10,00,001 to Rs. 12,50,000 |
20% |
| Rs. 12,50,001 to Rs 15,00,000 |
25% |
| Above Rs. 15,00,000 |
30% |
Income Tax for Senior Citizens
Senior Citizens are those who are above the age of 60 years or more during the previous year.
| Net Income Range |
Rate (Assessment Year 2021-22) |
Rate (Assessment Year 2020-21) |
| Up to Rs. 2,50,000 |
No tax |
No tax |
| Rs. 2,50,000 to Rs. 5,00,000 |
5% |
5% |
| Rs. 5,00,000 to Rs. 10,00,000 |
20% |
20% |
| Above Rs. 10,00,000 |
30% |
30% |
Income tax for Super Senior Citizens
Super senior citizens are those who are above the age of 80 during the previous year (year in which income is earned)
| Net Income Range |
Rate (Assessment Year 2021-22) |
Rate (Assessment Year 2020-21) |
| Up to Rs. 5,00,000 |
No tax |
No tax |
| Rs. 5,00,000 to Rs. 10,00,000 |
20% |
20% |
| Above Rs. 10,00,000 |
30% |
30% |
Read more on income tax rates for a partnership firm, Hindu Undivided Family, etc.
You can give away all of your property over which you have complete ownership. You cannot give away property which you do not own. In some cases, you may have a life interest in the property, i.e. when someone has given you the property under their will only to use for your lifetime, but you do not own it.
You may include any movable or immovable property which you have acquired by yourself. If you are a member of a Hindu joint family, you can only give away your portion of the ancestral property in a will.
The signature on a cheque means that the person who has signed it is giving permission to the bank to take money out of his or her account. When you give a cheque to the bank, keep in mind the following:
- Make sure the signature of the person who issues the cheque matches with the signatures in his bank records.
- If your signature on the cheque mismatches with your signature in the bank records, then the bank can fine you for this.
A signature mismatch can attract a penalty if the bank decides to return your cheque.
The overall objective of the Consumer Welfare Fund(CWF) is to provide financial assistance to promote and protect the welfare of the consumers and strengthen the consumer movement in the country(( Section II, Consumer Welfare Fund Guidelines, 2019)). There are certain rules in place which govern the use of the CWF. Some of them are(( Section III, Consumer Welfare Fund Guidelines, 2019)):
- Consumer awareness projects with wide coverage and adopting best international practices will receive priority for funding from CWF.
- The Government will focus on rural and disadvantaged consumers and schemes to protect them when using the CWF. For this, projects relating to rural consumers and their empowerment(( Section IV, Consumer Welfare Fund Guidelines, 2019)), and such organizations that work for rural consumers (which also have large participation of women and socially marginalized groups)(( Section V, Consumer Welfare Fund Guidelines, 2019)), will receive special focus.
- The CWF is also to be disbursed among the States and Union Territories, to create regional Consumer Welfare Funds, to fund welfare activities.
- There is a marked effort towards contributing to the CWF through the corporate social responsibility funds that are earmarked by companies.
- Innovative projects for consumer awareness and education, setting up training and research facilities for consumer education, projects relating to the rural consumer empowerment, Consumer Clubs in schools/colleges/Universities, setting up of Consumer Guidance Bureau at the State/ regional level for counselling and guidance, product testing labs, creating Centres of Excellence in Universities, meeting expenses on advocacy and class action suits, etc. get priority.
Applying for financial aid under the CWF
Calls for proposals seeking financial aid from the Consumer Welfare Fund are online, twice a year usually in the months of January & July. The appropriate notice and format of inviting proposals will be issued and published on the Consumer Department website. You can also download the application form for grants from Consumer Welfare Fund from the Consumer Department website(( Section VIII, Consumer Welfare Fund Guidelines, 2019)).
However, the Appraisal Committee can reject an application, for reasons including not meeting the eligibility criteria, incomplete forms trying to receive funds for the same venture through multiple Government forums, etc(( Department of Consumer Affairs, Consumer Welfare Guidelines, https://consumeraffairs.nic.in/sites/default/files/file-uploads/guidlines-2014/CWF%20Guidelines%202014.pdf. )).
If you are not satisfied with the solution provided by the bank and would like to further enquire the matter, you can approach the Banking Ombudsman established by the Reserve Bank of India under the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006. Each bank is required to display at its branch the details of the Banking Ombudsman under whose jurisdiction the branch falls. Complaints may be lodged with the respective Banking Ombudsman here.
You can only do this once you have tried to settle matters with the bank, and failed. If you file a case in Court, such as the Consumer Court, you cannot approach the Ombudsman while the case is going on.
If you are not satisfied with the decision of the Banking Ombudsman, you may approach the appellate authority against the Ombudsman’s decision – the Deputy Governor who is in charge of dealing with the implementation of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, Reserve Bank of India. This appeal must be made within 30 days of the Ombudsman’s decision.
Partition disputes refer to disputes around dividing the property of a Hindu Undivided Family as per the Hindu law of inheritance, i.e., Hindu Succession Act 1956.
There are two ways to resolve disputes about property partition: a family settlement agreement and a partition suit.
Family Settlement Agreement
A family settlement is a an agreement among family members, usually made to avoid court battles, by splitting up the family property through mutual understanding among the family members. It follows the same format as that of a partition deed. It is not mandatory to register and stamp the family settlement agreement. However, all family members should sign it voluntarily, that is, without any fraud or coercion or undue pressure from any family member or anyone.
Partition Suit
A suit for partition of property, is a court case filed when the family members cannot agree on the terms and conditions of dividing the property. In such cases, the family members usually want to divide the property according to their shares in it. The first step here is to carefully draft and send a legal notice to the other legal heirs of the property related to family property partition/ settlement.
Property or land registration in India involves(( Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908)):
- paying stamp duty and the registration fee for sale deed, and
- having the documents legally recorded with the sub-registrar of the area where the property is located. At the time of registration, the authorised signatories of the seller and the purchaser have to be present along with two witnesses.
Stamp duty varies depending on the area where the property is located. For eg: In Mumbai, the stamp duty is 5% of the total property value, which includes 1% metro cess(( https://housing.com/news/maharashtra-stamp-act-an-overview-on-stamp-duty-on-immovable-property/)). Usually, the seller is responsible for registration of the transfer of immovable property, and the purchaser is responsible for the payment of stamp duty.
Today, most states have their own web portals for property registration and the payment of stamp and registration fee. It does however require the buyer to physically visit the office of the sub-registrar with the documents, once the online process is completed. Also, the user-friendliness and the number of services one can seek from these portals varies from state to state. For eg: the Delhi government has multiple portals that an individual would have to go through to complete the registration process, but there are plans to introduce a single window portal soon(( https://housing.com/news/property-registration-online-in-delhi/)).
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