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Sale agreement
Question
I want to buy a car. The seller is saying that he is out of india so I may send the stamp paper to him and he will return it after signing. When I asked about the notary he said that his friend is advocate and he will do the notary, only I will have to keep the courier slips of both sides. He is ready to ink and digitally sign the documents. Is notary is necessary in this case? And notarizing the documents in this way is legal ?
Answer ( 1 )
Notarization of the sale agreement is not mandatory by law, but it adds evidentiary value and safeguards you in case of future disputes. The seller’s suggestion—that you send the stamp paper abroad and he will return it signed and notarized by his advocate friend in India—is not legally sound. As per Indian law, notarization requires the physical presence of the person signing before the notary, and a notary cannot legally attest a signature made in absentia. Therefore, such notarization would not hold legal validity. While the seller offering to digitally sign may sound reassuring, only a certified Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) issued under the Information Technology Act, 2000, is considered valid for legal documents—not a scanned or typed signature. If the seller is abroad, the proper way to proceed is for him to sign the agreement and get it notarized by a local notary public in the country where he resides. Alternatively, he can execute a Power of Attorney (POA) in favor of someone in India to handle the sale on his behalf. You should also verify the seller’s identity, ownership documents, and registration certificate (RC), and ideally speak to him over a video call to confirm authenticity.