GOA SUCCESSION, SPECIAL NOTARIES AND
INVENTORY PROCEEDING (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2022
[Act No. 13 of 2022]
[05th September,
2022]
PREAMBLE
An Act further
to amend the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act,
2012 (Goa Act 23 of 2016).
BE it enacted by the Legislative
Assembly of Goa in the Seventy-third Year of the Republic of India as
follows:--
Section 1 - Short Title and Commencement
(1)
This
Act may be called the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding
(Amendment) Act, 2022.
(2)
It
shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in
the Official Gazette, appoint.
Section 2 - Amendment of section 2
In section 2 of the Goa Succession,
Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012 (Goa Act 23 of 2016)
(hereinafter referred to as "the principal Act"), in clause (z),
after the words "a written account", the expression ", either
electronic or manual including online procedure" shall be inserted.
Section 3 - Amendment of section 35
In section 35 of the principal Act,-
(i) for sub-section (1),
the following subsection shall be substituted, namely:--
"(1) Renunciation of an inheritance shall be made
before the Court or before the Special Notary having jurisdiction over the
place where the succession opens.";
(ii) after sub-section
(4), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:--
"(4A) All such
files shall be bound in volumes containing 200 pages each, numbered
consecutively and each volume maintained annually shall be numbered serially
starting from Volume I of year........".
Section 4 - Amendment of section 52
In section 52 of the principal Act, in
sub-section (1),--
(a) after item (i), the
following item shall be inserted, namely:--
"(ia) on the
surviving spouse;";
(b) for item (iii), the
following item shall be substituted, namely:--
"(iii) on the
brothers and sisters and their descendents;";
(c) item (iv) shall be
omitted.
Section 5 - Insertion of new section 307A
After section 307 of the principal Act,
the following section shall be inserted, namely:--
"307A.
Jurisdiction to draw instruments and deeds.-
The Special Notary shall have
jurisdiction to draw instruments and deeds including wills as below:--
(i)
The
Special Notary having jurisdiction over the place where the succession opens
shall be competent to draw deed of declaration of heirship and deed of
renunciation.
(ii)
The
Special Notary having jurisdiction over the place of permanent residence of the
Testator/Testatrix, Donor or the executing party shall draw a will, consent or
power of attorney respectively:
Provided that whenever owing to medical
disability condition the Testator/Testatrix is admitted to hospital or
restricted at a place other than his permanent residence, then on production of
valid medical documents, the will can be drawn by the Special Notary having
jurisdiction over such place.".
Section 6 - Amendment of section 308
In section 308 of the principal Act, in
sub-section (2), for the expression "District Judge of the respective
district court or an additional district judge nominated by him, as the case
may be", the words "District Special Notary of the respective
District" shall be substituted.
Section 7 - Amendment of section 310
In section 310 of the principal Act,
for the expression "District Judge of the respective District Court or an
Additional District Judge nominated by him, as the case may be", the words
"District Special Notary of the respective district" shall be substituted.
Section 8 - Amendment of section 320
In section 320 of the principal Act, in
sub-section (3), for the expression "within 3 days", the expression
"within 30 days after hearing all the parties" shall be substituted.
Section 9 - Amendment of section 324
In section 324 of the principal Act,--
(i)
in
sub-section (i), in clause (iv), for the expression "The power of attorney
executed abroad shall be countersigned by the Indian Diplomatic Agent or the
Consular services and shall be duly stamped by the competent Collector in Goa;",
the expression "The Power of attorney executed abroad except where a
certificate called an Apostille has been issued thereto, shall be countersigned
by the Indian Diplomatic Agent or the Consular services and shall be duly
stamped by the competent Collector in Goa;" shall be substituted;
(ii)
in
sub-section (2), the words "or certified copy thereof" shall be
omitted.
Section 10 - Amendment of section 333
In section 333 of the principal Act, in
sub-section (7), for the words "District Judge", the words "District
Special Notary" shall be substituted.
Section 11 - Amendment of section 337
In section 337 of the principal Act,
the expression "The testator may keep the closed will with himself or hand
it over to a person of his confidence" shall be added at the end.
Section 12 - Omission of sections 338, 339 and 340
In the principal Act, sections 338, 339
and 340 shall be omitted.
Section 13 - Amendment of section 346
In section 346 of the principal Act,-
(i)
in
sub-section (4), the words "or a certified copy issued by an institution
maintaining such records" shall be omitted;
(ii)
after
sub-section (4), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:--
"(4A) In the
event when a party to succession deed produces documents of his identity and
the names on the documents produced are different, the parties may produce a
certificate issued by the Mamlatdar for certifying the names appearing in
different certificates are that of one and the same person.".
Section 14 - Insertion of new section 346A
After section 346 of the principal Act,
the following section shall be inserted, namely:--
"346A. Printed
Deed of Declaration of Heirship.-
(1)
The
Declarants and interested parties as specified in section 346 may opt to
present to the Special Notary, a computer generated printout in black ink of
the unsigned Deed of Declaration of Heirship, written in the language of the
Court, complying with all the legal formalities as specified under section 346
and other provisions under this Act on a standard ledger paper (Legal Size) leaving
a margin of 5 cm. on left side, 3 cms on top and the bottom and 2 cms. on the
right side of the paper. The print shall be in Times New Roman Script with
double spacing and continuous without break between words and numbers shall be
written in words, accompanied by all the documents required for registration of
said deed.
(2)
Upon
submission of printed Deed of Declaration of Heirship, all the parties shall
put their name, sign and thumb impression by appearing in the office of the
Special Notary, and thereafter the Special Notary shall sign the said deed.
(3)
All
the printed Deeds of Declaration of Heirship registered before the Special
Notary along with all the supporting documents, until they are preserved in a
form of a bound book, as provided in sub-section (4), shall be maintained in a
provisional file. In the same file, all the Deeds of Declaration of Heirship so
presented shall be kept as per the serial order of its presentation and their
pages numbered serially.
(4)
At
the end of every 200 sheets, the District Special Notary of the concerned
district shall initial all the pages of the Deed of Declaration of Heirship
contained in the file and ensure that the sheets are bound in a book.".