How To Register a Trust In India?

Trust means an arrangement that consists of a trustor or the owner, the trustee and the beneficiary, who is a third person. In a trust, the property of the owner is transferred into the name of the trustee for the benefit of the beneficiary. Only the beneficiary will be able to enjoy all the benefits of the property and not the trustee. The trustee has to make sure that the beneficiary gets all the rights on the property or enjoys the benefits of it.

You will have both public and private trusts in India. So, if you want to maintain trust, then you should make sure that the registration of the trust is done. Here is the procedure to follow for registering a trust in India:

Step 1: You should first decide on a good name for the trust as per the Emblems and Names Act, 1950. It should not be a restricted name under this Act.

Step 2: You need to decide the settlers and the trustee for your trust. There will usually be only one settler, but it can be more also. But when it comes to trustees, there will be a minimum of two trustees, and the maximum number can be any. There is no limit on it.

Step 3: You should now prepare the trust deed for the registration of the trust. It should contain all the important information and instructions related to the property that is being handed over to the trustee for the benefit of the beneficiary. This document has to be submitted for registration.

Step 4: Your next step is to prepare an MOU or Memorandum of Understanding. It should have the objective for the formation of trust. All the details about the trustees like their names, their occupation, their addresses and their signatures are taken in the MOU.

Step 5: You should now submit all the documents that are required for the registration process. The documents required are the trust deed, Identity proof of settler and trustees, the trust’s address proof, PAN card, NOC provided by the owner of the land.

Step 6: The next step is to prepare the trust deed on stamp paper. You will have to prepare the deed on Rs 100 stamp paper. Along with this, you need to make a payment of Rs 1100 towards the registration. Out of the Rs 1100, Rs 100 is for registration and the remaining Rs 1000 will be used for keeping the trust deed safe at the registrar office. After the submission of all the required documents, you can visit the registrar office and collect an original certified copy of your trust deed.

Step 7: You should now submit this certified copy of the deed to the local registrar office in your area. When you are submitting the copy, make sure that you are submitting photocopies of the same to the registrar. All the photocopies of the trust deed should have the settler’s signature on them. Settlers along with two or more witnesses should be present at the registrar office. The ID proof of all the witnesses should also be submitted. The presence of a Trustee is not mandatory in this process.

Step 8: Post verification, only the photocopies of the trust deed are kept at the registrar office and the original certificate is returned to the settler. You can now collect the registration certificate of the trust after seven working days of submission of the photocopies of the trust deed at the registration office.

So, this is how you will be able to register your trust in India.