When the Sub-Registrar Refuses to File or Register a Sale Certificate
Auction Dunia · Law and portal facts checked as of · 9 min read
The short answer
A sub-registrar can refuse a document only on grounds the Registration Act and the State’s rules provide. Courts have held that tax dues claimed against the borrower are not such a ground, that the bank’s s.89(4) filing has no time limit, and that the filing attracts no stamp duty; duty arises only if you present the certificate for registration. If you meet a refusal, ask for the reasons in writing, ask the bank’s Authorised Officer to send or resend the copy under s.89(4), and take an advocate’s advice on the appeal route and its 30-day clock.
Key points
- There are two routes, and a refusal means something different on each: the bank’s filing of a copy in Book 1 (Registration Act s.89(4)), or your own presentation of the original for registration.
- Dues claimed against the borrower are not a ground of refusal. The Karnataka High Court held a sub-registrar may refuse only on the grounds in Karnataka Registration Rules r.171 (Karnataka High Court, WP 7872 of 2024, 28 May 2024).
- The four-month limit for presenting documents applies to registration, not to the bank’s filing; s.89(4) sets no time limit (MGM Pooja Buildtech v. Punjab National Bank, Karnataka High Court, 2013).
- Filing in Book 1 attracts no stamp duty. Presenting the certificate for registration does, on the purchase money.
- A refusal to register must be recorded with reasons, and a copy given free of charge on request (s.71). An appeal lies to the Registrar within 30 days (s.72).
First, which route was refused
A SARFAESI sale certificate reaches the sub-registrar’s record in one of two ways. The Authorised Officer sends a copy, which the sub-registrar files in Book 1, the register of documents about immovable property (Registration Act s.89(4)). Or you present the original for registration, paying stamp duty and the registration fee. Registration is not compulsory (s.17(2)(xii)), and the Supreme Court has held that the filing is enough (Esjaypee Impex v. Canara Bank, Supreme Court, 2021; State of Punjab v. Ferrous Alloy Forgings, Supreme Court, 2024). Our guide to the sale certificate explains both routes and why many buyers still register.
The difference matters when something goes wrong. A refused filing is a question about the officer’s copy and the sub-registrar’s duty to file it. A refused registration is a question about your document, and the Registration Act gives it its own procedure of written reasons and appeal. Find out which one you are dealing with before you do anything else.
The usual grounds, and what the law says
| Ground raised | What the law and the courts say |
|---|---|
| Tax or other dues claimed against the borrower | Not a ground in the Act or the Karnataka Rules; the sub-registrar acts within those four corners (Karnataka High Court, WP 7872 of 2024). |
| Too late: the time for presentation has passed | s.89(4) sets no time limit for the bank’s filing; the four-month limit in s.23 is for documents presented for registration (MGM Pooja Buildtech, 2013). |
| Unstamped or under-stamped | No duty on a Book 1 filing. On presentation for registration, duty is payable on the purchase money. |
| On Telangana’s s.22-A prohibited list | A listed property’s documents cannot be registered until the entry is resolved. A hit is not an automatic fail, and the list has known errors. |
“There are dues against the borrower”
In a 2024 Karnataka case, a buyer at a SARFAESI auction paid the stamp duty and fees and presented the bank’s sale certificate for registration. The sub-registrar declined, orally, because the Income Tax Department had claims pending against the borrowers. The buyer wrote to the office, the bank wrote too, and nothing happened. The High Court held that this reason was “unavailable to the Sub-Registrar, even if it were to be in writing”. A sub-registrar can act only within the Registration Act and the State’s rules, and unless one of the grounds listed in Karnataka Registration Rules r.171 is present, there is no jurisdiction to refuse. The Court relied on the priority given to secured creditors and the overriding effect of SARFAESI (ss.26E and 35; Punjab National Bank v. Union of India, Supreme Court, 2022), directed registration, and directed the State to issue a circular to all sub-registrars (Karnataka High Court, WP 7872 of 2024, 28 May 2024).
The judgment is about refusals at the registry. It does not decide who bears a due that the sale notice put on the buyer, and dues such as electricity arrears can still follow the property. Those are settled with the authority concerned, not at the sub-registrar’s counter. The decision binds in Karnataka; in Telangana it is persuasive, and Telangana has its own registration rules.
“It is too late to present this”
The Registration Act requires most documents to be presented for registration within four months of execution (s.23), and the Karnataka Rules list late presentation as a ground of refusal (r.171(vi)). In a Mysuru case, the bank had sent its copy for filing, the copy was never entered, and when the buyer took it to the office nearly three years later the sub-registrar refused it as time-barred. The High Court held that s.89(4) prescribes no period for the bank’s filing, that s.23 applies to documents presented for registration and not to a copy sent for filing, and directed the bank to send the certificate again for the sub-registrar to file in Book 1 (MGM Pooja Buildtech v. Punjab National Bank, Karnataka High Court, 2013).
If you mean to present the original for registration yourself, the time rules for registration are a separate question. Do it soon after the certificate issues, and if months have passed, take an advocate’s view before you go to the office.
“The certificate is unstamped”
For the filing, no duty is due. The Madras High Court directed sub-registrars to enter a SARFAESI certificate in Book 1, or scan it, on receiving the officer’s copy, without demanding stamp duty or registration charges (Madras High Court, WP(MD) 14873 of 2024, 8 January 2025). The Supreme Court has said the same of the filing (Ferrous Alloy Forgings, 2024).
For registration, duty is due. Karnataka charges a certificate of sale as a conveyance on a market value equal to the purchase money (Karnataka Stamp Act, Schedule, Article 15), and Telangana’s ready reckoner also charges it on the purchase money. If a demand is worked out on some other value, ask for the basis in writing. The rates are in our all-in cost guide.
Telangana: a hit on the s.22-A list
Telangana’s version of the Registration Act carries s.22-A, which bars registration of documents about listed properties: land whose transfer a law prohibits, such as assigned land, government, endowment and Wakf land, ceiling-surplus land, and notified attached property. A sale certificate presented for registration on a listed property will be refused. The Madras High Court’s order also allowed a sub-registrar to decline a Book 1 entry where Tamil Nadu’s own s.22-A or s.22-B applies; whether a Telangana office will treat a filing the same way is not settled in the sources checked for this guide.
Reading a 22A refusal
A hit is not an automatic fail. The list has known errors, and the State announced review and removal steps in 2026, as reported. Ask which clause the entry falls under and where it came from. For assigned land, Telangana’s assigned-lands law has its own exceptions; whether one applies to the property, and how it carries through to a buyer at the bank’s sale, is a question for your advocate. The pre-bid check is in our guide to granted land and the 22A list.
What you can do
- 1
Ask for the refusal in writing
A sub-registrar refusing registration must record an order with reasons in Book 2 and endorse the document. On your application, a copy of the reasons is given without payment. An oral “not possible” leaves you nothing to answer.
Registration Act s.71
- 2
Bring in the Authorised Officer
The s.89(4) filing is the officer’s act. Ask for the covering letter and the office’s acknowledgment, and, if the copy was lost or not entered, for a fresh copy sent quoting s.89(4). In both Karnataka cases above, the bank supported the buyer.
s.89(4)
- 3
Appeal a refused registration within 30 days
Except where the refusal is for denial of execution, an appeal lies to the Registrar within 30 days of the order. If the Registrar also refuses, a civil suit lies within 30 days of that order.
ss.72, 76, 77
- 4
Take an advocate’s advice
Bring the certificate, the confirmation letter, the covering letter, any endorsement and your correspondence. Where a filing or registration has been refused on grounds outside the statute, the High Court has been approached in such cases.
Keep it courteous and in writing. Sub-registrars work to departmental instructions, and a refusal can end once the officer’s letter or the right citation reaches the office. How long that takes varies by office, from days to several months where an appeal or a court is involved; plan the next steps, such as the e-Khata or the lender’s mortgage, with that in mind.
What the auction route cannot promise
- No buyer, bank or adviser can promise that a sub-registrar will file or register on a given date; the time a refusal takes to resolve varies by office.
- The judgments cited bind in their own States; in Telangana the Karnataka and Madras rulings are persuasive only.
- Resolving a refusal at the registry does not settle dues that the sale notice left with the buyer, or a title problem behind a 22A entry.
Questions buyers ask
Sources
Statutes, rules and judgments first. Checked as of 17 October 2026; the law and portal practice change, so confirm against the source before relying on a detail.
- StatuteRegistration Act, 1908 — ss.17(2)(xii), 23, 71–77, 89(4)
- JudgmentKarnataka High Court, WP 7872 of 2024, order of 28 May 2024
- JudgmentMGM Pooja Buildtech v. Chief Manager, Punjab National Bank, Karnataka High Court, WP 14802 of 2013, 26 Jun 2013
- JudgmentMadras High Court (Madurai Bench), WP(MD) 14873 of 2024, 8 Jan 2025 (2025:MHC:130)
- JudgmentEsjaypee Impex v. Asst. General Manager & Authorised Officer, Canara Bank, Supreme Court, order of 5 Jan 2021
- JudgmentState of Punjab v. Ferrous Alloy Forgings, Supreme Court, 19 Nov 2024
- StatuteKarnataka Stamp Act, 1957 — Schedule, Article 15 (certificate of sale)
- Official portalRegistration and Stamps Department, Telangana (IGRS) — Prohibited Property and ready reckoner
This guide explains the law and the process in general terms. It is not advice on any specific property; that belongs in a due diligence report on the property itself.
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