Is GPA Banned in Delhi? What the 2026 Rules Actually Change

GPA is not banned in Delhi. What changed, from 8 July 2026, is that every General Power of Attorney presented for registration now undergoes detailed scrutiny, and any GPA executed in favour of someone outside close blood relations must be referred to the Collector of Stamps before it can be registered. If the document effectively functions as a property sale rather than a genuine authorisation, it can now attract stamp duty equivalent to a sale deed, typically 4 to 7% of the property's value, instead of the nominal duty a GPA has traditionally carried.

If you're trying to understand what this means for a property you own, are buying, or are structuring a deal around, here's the full picture: what changed, who's exempt, how the new process works, and how it connects to the older legal position on GPA that Delhi buyers have heard about for years.

What Changed in Delhi's GPA Rules (July 2026)?

On 8 July 2026, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta directed the Revenue Department to introduce stricter scrutiny of property documents executed through General Power of Attorney. The government's own explanation was direct: in several cases, documents were being registered as a simple GPA, paying only nominal stamp duty, even though they contained clauses covering monetary consideration, handover of possession, and transfer of ownership rights. The government called this a direct evasion of stamp duty.

Under the new instructions, every Sub-Registrar in Delhi must examine each GPA presented for registration, checking specifically for whether it mentions monetary consideration, provides for handing over possession, or is drafted as irrevocable. Where those features are present, and the GPA is not in favour of a close blood relative, the Sub-Registrar can no longer register it directly. It must be sent to the Collector of Stamps first.

Is GPA Actually Banned, or Just Restricted?

Restricted, not banned. A genuine GPA, one that simply authorises someone to manage, lease, or act on your behalf regarding a property without functioning as a disguised sale, can still be registered in the normal way, including for people outside your family. What's blocked is direct registration of a non-blood-relative GPA that carries the hallmarks of a sale: it now has to go through an adjudication step first.

For blood relatives, even a GPA with sale-like clauses continues to register the way it always has, without the Collector of Stamps referral.

Which GPAs Are Exempt: The Blood-Relation Rule

GPAs executed in favour of close blood relatives are unaffected by this order and continue to register as before. That covers:

• Parents
• Spouse
• Children (son or daughter)
• Siblings (brother or sister)

Any GPA given to someone outside this list, a friend, a business partner, a broker, or an agent, is the category now subject to mandatory referral if it shows sale-like features.

How the Collector of Stamps Adjudication Process Works

Once a Sub-Registrar refers to a GPA, the Collector of Stamps has to issue a reasoned, written order within 30 days, extendable up to a maximum of three months in exceptional cases. That order determines whether the document is genuinely just a power of attorney, or whether it attracts the full stamp duty applicable to a Conveyance Deed. Registration cannot proceed until the Collector's order is issued and, if applicable, the higher stamp duty is paid.

To back this up, the Delhi government has directed every Sub-Registrar's office to maintain a dedicated register of referred cases and submit monthly reports, and has said it will roll out an online tracking mechanism within a month of the order. Sub-Registrars who register a qualifying GPA without making the referral face disciplinary action.

Why This Isn't Entirely New: The 2011 Suraj Lamp Judgment

If this sounds familiar, it's because Delhi property buyers have been hearing some version of "GPA doesn't give you real ownership" since 2011. In Suraj Lamp & Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Haryana, decided on 11 October 2011, the Supreme Court held that transactions structured as "GPA sales," or combinations of a Sale Agreement, GPA, and Will, do not convey title and cannot be treated as a valid transfer of immovable property. Only a registered sale deed can legally transfer ownership. Delhi's Inspector General of Registration issued a circular based on that judgment at the time.

The 2026 order builds directly on that legal foundation. It doesn't change the underlying law that a GPA was never a valid substitute for a registered sale deed; it adds an administrative enforcement layer, mandatory scrutiny and Collector of Stamps adjudication, aimed at stopping people from using a low-duty GPA to functionally complete a sale anyway.

What This Means for Stamp Duty

A GPA given to a close relative typically carries a nominal stamp duty, sometimes as low as a few hundred rupees, since it isn't being treated as a property transfer. Under the new scrutiny, a non-blood-relative GPA found to function as a sale can instead be charged stamp duty at the same rate as a Sale Deed, generally in the range of 4 to 7% of the property's value, depending on the applicable circle rate. That difference is the entire point of the crackdown: it closes the gap that let people complete what was really a sale while paying sale-avoidance rates.

What If You Already Own Property Through a GPA?

The July 2026 order governs new registrations going forward; it doesn't retroactively invalidate a GPA you already hold. But the underlying legal position from Suraj Lamp still applies to any GPA-based holding: a GPA alone, regardless of when it was signed, has never conveyed legal title. If you hold property this way, whether from before or after 2011, the only way to secure enforceable ownership is to complete the transaction through a registered sale deed or conveyance. If you're relying on an old GPA and haven't converted it, that's worth addressing sooner rather than later, since it affects your ability to sell, mortgage, or pass the property on with a clean title.

GPA and Unauthorised Colonies: Where This Intersects with PM-UDAY

GPA-based property holding has historically been the default in many of Delhi's unauthorised colonies, precisely the properties covered by the PM-UDAY scheme and its SWAGAM Portal for regularisation. That connection matters here. PM-UDAY already treats GPA, Will, and Agreement to Sell as the underlying documents used to establish ownership recognition and issue a Conveyance Deed or Authorisation Slip; it doesn't rely on the GPA itself as the final title.

The July 2026 scrutiny order is a separate, general registration rule and doesn't override the PM-UDAY process. But if you're navigating an unauthorised colony property and considering a fresh GPA-based arrangement outside your PM-UDAY case, expect the same blood-relation and Collector of Stamps rules to apply as anywhere else in Delhi.

GPA vs Registered Sale Deed: Which Should You Use?

If the goal is genuinely to authorise someone, a family member managing a property while you're abroad, for instance, a GPA remains a legitimate and legally recognised tool, and nothing about this order changes that.

If the goal is to actually buy or sell property, a registered sale deed has always been the only instrument that transfers title, both under the 2011 Supreme Court position and now under this tightened registration process. Using a GPA to structure what is really a sale was already legally risky before this order; it's now also administratively slower and, in most non-family cases, no cheaper.

Common Problems and What to Do

Your GPA is being referred to the Collector of Stamps and you're not sure why. Check whether the document includes consideration, possession-handover, or irrevocability clauses, and whether the recipient is a blood relative under the current definition. Any one of those factors can trigger a referral.

You're worried about an old GPA-based property you already hold. The 2026 order doesn't retroactively cancel it, but the 2011 Suraj Lamp position means it never conveyed title in the first place. Converting to a registered sale deed is the way to secure enforceable ownership.

You want to give a GPA to someone outside your immediate family for a genuine, non-sale purpose. That's still allowed; the referral requirement is specifically tied to sale-like features in the document, not to the relationship alone.

You're buying a property currently held only via GPA. Confirm whether the seller can instead offer a registered sale deed, and treat a GPA-only arrangement as a red flag rather than a shortcut, given both the legal history and the current scrutiny.