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What would you not give to see that child-like smile on your loved one’s face? Why wait for a special occasion to gift something thoughtful to people who mean the world to you? There is perhaps not a single soul in this world who doesn’t like gifts. The sheer joy of giving and receiving gifts is unparalleled and inexplicable and for most of us is nostalgic as well. Remember those days when we would wait by the window for our fathers to come back from their occasional official tour just to unwrap the beautiful gifts that they had promised to get.

If you are one of those who has always felt the urge to gift someone special with something that they would hold close to their hearts for the rest of their lives and don’t know how to go about it, then, you have landed at the right place. LegalDesk just made gifting a lot easier sans all the hullabaloo around gifting and its legal implications.

Gift Deed Explained

The most common means of transferring a property, whether movable or immovable, is by way of a gift deed. Gift deed is a legal document by way of which the ownership or possession over a property is transferred to another person. Provided, the transfer so made is voluntary and gratuitous without any element of consideration in pecuniary form being present. The sole consideration involved in such a transfer of property by way of a gift is natural love and affection. Any gift deed should necessarily involve 2 processes i.e, of giving and accepting.

Section 122 is the provision which defines a Gift, and according to the said section, gift is the transfer of certain property whether movable or immovable made voluntarily sans any consideration by the donor to the donee and so accepted by the donee or by someone on behalf of the donee. The person so making the gift is known as the ‘donor’ and the person accepting or receiving such a gift is called the ‘donee’.

Gift should be of an existing property, as gift of a future property is void in nature. Acceptance remains one of the important features of a gift.

It is mandatory for the donee to accept the gift during the lifetime of the donor and while he still has the capacity of giving. The gift shall be rendered void if the donee dies before any acceptance is made. As per the provisions of the Transfer of Property Act, transfer of immovable property is considered valid only when it is made by way of a written document that is duly executed. A gift deed should bear the signatures of both the Donor as well as the Donee and it has to be attested in presence of at least 2 witnesses. Gift should describe the property so transferred in lucid and unambiguous terms.

What Qualifies A Valid Gift?

For any transfer of property to be considered a gift, the following prerequisites need to be met:

1. The donor should be competent to contract
2. A minor who has not attained the age of 18 years or above is barred from transferring any property whatsoever. However, a minor can accept gift, his guardian can accept a gift on his behalf.
3. The transfer should be voluntary and without any duress or undue influence.
4. There should be an absolute absence of monetary consideration.
5. Acceptance of gift is of prime importance. Acceptance can be either express or implied. A donee needs to accept the gift within the lifetime of the donor and while the donor is capable of giving.
6. A gift needs to be accepted after its execution as well irrespective of whether it is registered or not.
7. A gift that is made should be of a certain movable or immovable property meaning thereby that the gift should be existing at the time the transfer is being made and transfer of future property is void ab initio.
8. Gift must be tangible.
9. Delivery of possession is an important aspect of transfer of property by way of a gift.

Registration Of Gift Deed

As per the provisions of Section 17 of the Registration Act of 1908, a gift of immovable property needs to be compulsorily registered with the sub-registrar of the area where the property in question is situated.  A movable property needn’t be registered.

An unregistered gift is not admissible in evidence and it doesn’t pass any good title to the other. Mere delivery of possession shall confer no rights on the donee. A gift is valued by an approved valuer for the purposes of stamp duty. Stamp duty varies from state to state and for women stamp duty is slightly lower in some states.

Registration and Stamp Duty Charges For Gift Deeds in Orissa are as follows:

These values are indicative in nature, hence subject to variations. Please check with the authorities concerned before proceeding.

LegalDesk Is Your New Age Messiah

With LegalDesk in picture, consider yourselves in safe hands, as we help you create and gift. Just use our ready to use gift deed template, type in all the necessary details and voila! Your gift deed is ready. Just go ahead and gift your loved ones not only your property but also happiness and be rest assured as we will get it printed on Stamp paper of the requisite amount and ship it to your address, while you sit and relax in the comforts of your abode. We also have a volley of legal documents and deeds on our websites which are user-friendly and quick. So, don’t forget to give our documents a dekko too.