Q365. Must foreign citizens sending Power of Attorney to India get Document Attested by Indian Consulate in their country

Question: Dear Sirs, My Ucle and Auntie along with their son and daughter, all of whom are Brithish Citizens and PIOs, would like to execute a Power of Attorney in my name residing in West Bengal, India. I understand the document needs to be notarised in UK clearly specifying the extent of power. Thereafter it needs to be authenticated by the HC of India/Consulate. On receipt in India it needs to be adjudicated or stamped within 3 months for making it valid for any kind of official use in India. My questions are:

1. Does the document really needs to be authenticated in case of POA being given by British Citizens or is it needed only for NRIs holding Indian Passports?
2. If needed, is it required for all of the executants to present themselves before the HC/Consulate office OR any one acting on behalf of all OR an attorney/advocate/notary may be appointed for this purpose who get the authentication done on behalf of the executants?
3. What is procedure to have the adjudication OR stamping done once the document reaches India? Shall be obliged to receive answers to my queries. Regards, Shuvendu Dey

Answer: India is a signatory of the Hague Convention whereby the requirement of getting Apostille foreign public documents certified by the Indian Consulates abroad is not required and such documents should be accepted throughout India. However, probably due to lack of information to appropriate authorities, attestation of foreign power of attorney documents from Indian consulates is still asked for. To avoid unnecessary delays, it may be easier for NRIs as well as foreign citizens sending power of attorney to India, to simply ensure that documents are attested by the Indian Consulate in your area. Details of getting documents attested at Indian Consulates abroad is available on their respective websites. Once a Power of Attorney document is received in India, the person receiving the POA should get it registered at the Registration Office in the State where they reside. Registration of documents in India now has become important for the document to have any legal standing in a court of law.