What Is Notary & The Validity Of Notary Rent Agreement For Income Tax?

Every legal document must be verified by the notary public to execute the transaction properly and detect fraud (if any). Check this article to know about the importance of notary and the validity of notary rent agreement for income tax. 

What Is Notary?

A notary is known as Notary Public, where the officials authenticate the legal documents like deeds, contracts, and other required documents with a notary seal. 

The officials of the notary first verify the validity of the document. They also serve as an unbiased legal witness while signing the papers. 

While verifying the details of the documents of both the parties, the notaries should also verify the participants to legalize whether they are signing with mutual understanding and information or not. 

The government, court, or regulatory authorities appoints notaries for the task of verifying the information on documents and the parties  

Duties Of A Notary 

The primary role of a notary public is to verify the details of the legal documents and authenticate them. 

However, the participants have to ensure that the documents submitted meet the general requirement of the agreement. The legal documents may include self-attested agreements, photo identification with signatures, and stated obligations. 

When the notary is satisfied with the documents, they will provide a notarial certificate along with the notary seal on the document. 

Whereas, if the documents do not meet the requirement or the identification of the participants is not certain then the notaries will not authenticate the documents.

Few of the duties of the notary public include the following: 

• Detect fraud 
• Understanding whether the parties are agreeing on a mutual basis
• The identification of both the parties is verified and recorded  
• After verification, the notarial certificate on every document should be provided 
• Serving as a witness for the authenticated documents 
• Maintaining a journal for the documents verified and authenticated
• Verifying the Oaths 
• Taking up the statutory declarations 
• Handling every document properly like marriage certificates, contracts, loan documents, and any other legal documents.   

What Is A Notary Stamp?

There is always a stamp on the legal documents which states that the document is valid. Similarly, a notary stamp confirms to the court that the document presented is valid and legal. 

This also signifies that the participants were not forced by any cause to sign the legal document. The notary stamp paper provided by the Notary Public or the Commissioner of Oaths is used for legal purposes. 

Any legal proceedings are executed after the authentication of the documents. The stamp paper includes much relevant information like the name of the Notary Public, the State of Commission, and the expiration date of the commission. 

The notary public who authorizes the notary stamp is appointed by the state or central government and states that the verified documents are authentic. 

What Is A Notary Seal? 

There is a very minimal difference between a notary stamp and a notary seal. A notary stamp is rectangular and contains the information like name of the Notary Public, the State of Commission, and the expiration date of the commission. 

Whereas, the notary seal is a traditional way of authenticating documents. It includes a metal clamp that leaves a round impression on the legal document. The notary information is provided there. 

However, the notary seal is used along with written information because the seal information is not visible clearly.   

Is Notarized Rent Agreement Valid For Income Tax

The notarization of a rent agreement is done to authenticate the document. In this notarized rent agreement the following information is provided:

• Duration of stay 
• Rental amount  
• Which properties are provided like lights, fan, chair, bed, etc
• Rent hike period 
• Any other special condition 

Under the following conditions, the rent agreement is notarized:

• If there is any urgent requirement for the rent agreement 
• When the rental period is 11 months or less than 11 months 
• For stating the mutual agreement between the tenant and the landlord, the notarized rent agreement is created as it will authenticate the participants and their conditions. 

It is not important to notarize the rental agreement as a simple rental agreement already provides a mutual agreement between both parties. 

During claims for benefits under the Income Tax act, the parties have to present the mutual between both parties. Hence, a simple rental agreement will also work similarly. 

The tenant and the landlord are not required to present any notary rent agreement for receiving benefits on income tax. 

Important Notarized Documents 

The documents which are required for notarizing or verifying the authenticity of the legal information are provided in the following: 

• Identification of the person appearing in front of the notary 
• The rational minds of the participants  
• Age of the participants     
• Willingly signing the documents

Fees Of Notary 

There is a specific amount to be paid to the notary public for providing the service of notarized documents. 

The notary public will first analyze the documents, verify them, and then authenticate them. The notary will also verify whether the participants have sound minds or whether they are willingly signing or not. 

FAQs