Agreement to Sell Generator (India): Flat, House or Plot

About the Agreement to Sell Generator (India): Flat, House or Plot

The agreement to sell is the document that fixes a property deal: it records the price, what has been paid, what the seller must produce, and the date by which the sale deed will be registered. It does not transfer the property — only the sale deed does (Transfer of Property Act, 1882, s.54) — but it is what a court enforces if either side walks away, and what the bank asks for before it sanctions a home loan.

Fill in the parties, the property with its schedule and title document, the price with the token and instalments, the dates for the balance, the sale deed and possession, and the generator writes the agreement: the recitals, payment table, the home-loan condition, title and document obligations, approvals and no-objection letters, who pays what, the default and earnest-money terms, specific performance, jurisdiction and the two schedules. The panels work out the balance at the sale deed, the 1% tax the buyer must deduct when the price or the stamp duty value reaches ₹50 lakh, and the stamp duty this agreement itself attracts — which jumps in some States if possession is handed over now.

The free preview shows every page with your details and the first part of the wording, and hides the rest; a Premium pass unlocks the full agreement to download, copy or print.

Common uses

• A resale flat or house where the buyer is taking a home loan and the bank wants the agreement first.
• A plot purchase where the balance is paid in stages against approvals.
• Recording a token advance properly instead of a one-line receipt on a plain sheet.
• Working out the 1% tax and the stamp duty on the agreement before the parties meet.

What the agreement does, and what it does not

• It does not transfer the property. A contract for sale only records the terms on which a transfer will happen (Transfer of Property Act, 1882, s.54). Ownership moves on the registered sale deed.
• It can be enforced. Either side can sue for specific performance under the Specific Relief Act, 1963, and an unregistered agreement may still be used as evidence in such a suit (Registration Act, 1908, s.49, proviso).
• Registration matters for part performance. To rely on s.53A of the Transfer of Property Act — a buyer in possession resisting the seller — the agreement must be registered (Registration Act, s.17(1A)).
• The seller’s duties are set by law too. Section 55 of the Transfer of Property Act makes the seller disclose material defects in title, produce the title documents, answer questions about the title, and pay the outgoings up to the sale; the buyer bears loss after the sale deed.
• Keep every payment traceable. No payment of ₹2,00,000 or more may be received in cash from one person in a day or for one transaction (Income-tax Act, 2025, s.186; s.269ST of the 1961 Act), and the penalty equals the amount received.

Stamp duty on the agreement, and the possession trap

Most States charge the agreement a small duty and the full conveyance duty on the sale deed. Two of the presets here change that when possession passes under the agreement:

• Maharashtra — Explanation I to Article 25 of Schedule I: an agreement to sell under which possession is transferred, or agreed to be transferred, before, at or after execution is a deemed conveyance, and the conveyance duty is payable on the agreement — adjusted later against the sale deed.
• Gujarat — Explanation I to Article 20 of the Gujarat Stamp Act does the same, with 40% additional duty under section 3A.
• Karnataka — the fee table charges an agreement relating to sale with possession 5% of the market value and 2% fee, and one without possession 0.5% (at least ₹500) with a ₹200 fee.
• Telangana — the Ready Reckoner charges a sale agreement with possession 5.5% (adjustable) and one without possession 0.5% (not adjustable), with a 0.5% fee between ₹1,000 and ₹50,000.

For other States the tool asks for the rate. Whatever the State, do not hand over possession in the agreement unless you mean to pay the conveyance duty now — and use the Stamp Duty & Registration Charges Calculator for the sale deed itself.

The 1% tax the buyer deducts

When a resident sells land or a building (other than agricultural land) and the consideration or the stamp duty value is ₹50,00,000 or more, the buyer deducts 1% of the higher of the two and pays it to the government (Income-tax Act, 2025, s.393, Table Sl. No. 3; s.194-IA of the 1961 Act). Points that catch people out:

• The threshold is tested on the total paid by all the buyers to all the sellers for the property, not on each person’s share.
• The tax comes out of the price: deduct it from the instalment, pay it with Form 26QB, and give the seller Form 16B. The seller claims it in the return.
• For a non-resident seller this provision does not apply: tax is deducted at the rates for a non-resident on the whole consideration, the buyer needs a TAN, and the amount changes only if the seller produces a lower-deduction certificate from the Assessing Officer.
• Agricultural land is outside this provision altogether, so no 1% is deducted on it — but check the State’s own restrictions on who may buy agricultural land.

What a buyer should check before signing

• Title chain: the mother deed and every link for the period your bank or lawyer asks for, and that the names match the current owner’s ID.
• Encumbrance certificate for the period the State issues, and a loan closure or no-dues letter where the property is mortgaged — with the original title deeds released by the lender.
• Khata, property tax receipts and approved plan, and the occupancy certificate for a flat; a plot needs its conversion or layout approval.
• Society or association: dues cleared, a no-objection letter, and the transfer charges agreed in writing.
• A project under construction: the RERA registration of the project on the State authority’s site, the promoter’s own agreement for sale, and that no more than 10% of the cost has been taken before a written, registered agreement (Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, s.13).
• Identity and capacity: a power of attorney holder’s authority, a company’s board resolution, a minor’s guardian and the court’s permission.

Token money, default and the way out

The token (earnest money) is what makes the deal real — and the main thing fought over when it fails. The agreement this tool writes:

• lets the seller forfeit the token if the buyer does not complete after a written notice to remedy the default, and refund every other amount;
• makes the seller refund everything plus an equal amount as compensation if the seller does not complete, without taking away the buyer’s right to specific performance;
• makes the home-loan condition a clean exit: if the loan is not sanctioned by the agreed date for reasons not caused by the buyer, either party may end the agreement and the token comes back;
• says time is of the essence and that any extension must be in writing.

Both penalty clauses can be switched off, and the notice period is yours to set. Courts can reduce a forfeiture they find unreasonable, so keep it proportionate to the loss.

Limitations

• A generic template, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it and verify the title before any money changes hands — especially for agricultural land, a project under construction, a power of attorney sale, an auction purchase or a non-resident party.
• Stamp duty figures are estimates for this agreement only, from the published schedules of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Gujarat; other States use the rate you enter, and the sale deed is charged separately.
• The tax panel covers the 1% deduction for a resident seller. For a non-resident seller the rate depends on the gain, the holding period and any certificate the seller holds; take advice.
• It does not search the title, obtain an encumbrance certificate or check a RERA registration — it lists what to ask for.
• Names and addresses in the Indian scripts (Devanagari, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and the others) come out right in the preview, the DOCX, the PDF and Print. A script the PDF engine cannot draw, such as Urdu, shows in the DOCX and Print but not in the PDF or the free preview’s pages.

Privacy

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