Inheriting property in India: succession, will, mutation

Which law governs

The Hindu Succession Act applies, under section 2(1), to Hindus (including Virashaivas, Lingayats and followers of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj), to Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, and to anyone else who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew, unless it is proved that Hindu law would not have applied to them. For a Muslim, Christian or Parsi, other rules apply: the Indian Succession Act, 1925 contains separate provisions for some of these groups, and I did not read them in detail. The text of the 1956 Act I read is the original Gazette publication; it has been amended since (for example in 2005), so confirm the current schedule of heirs before you rely on it.

Without a will: a Hindu man

Section 8 sets the order: first Class I heirs in the Schedule; if none, Class II; then agnates; then cognates. Under section 9, Class I heirs “take simultaneously and to the exclusion of all other heirs”. Section 10 divides the estate: the widow (or all widows together) takes one share; each surviving son, daughter and the mother takes one share; the heirs of each predeceased son or daughter share one share between them.

Calculation, using sections 8 to 10 of the 1956 text: a man dies without a will leaving a widow, one son, one daughter and his mother, and no predeceased children. That is four shares, each one quarter. Property held in a Mitakshara coparcenary follows section 6 and other rules; a lawyer should say which applies.

Without a will: a Hindu woman

Section 15 sets a different order: first sons, daughters and the husband; then the husband’s heirs; then her mother and father; then the father’s heirs; and last the mother’s heirs. Property a woman inherited from her parents goes, if she leaves no children, to her father’s heirs; property inherited from her husband or father-in-law goes to the husband’s heirs (section 15(2)).

With a will

Section 30 says any Hindu may dispose of property by will “in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925”. Under the Registration Act, 1908, a will is not compulsorily registrable (section 18(e) lists wills among documents that may be registered), and a will “may at any time be presented for registration or deposited” (section 27).

Probate: the 2025 change

Before 20 December 2025, section 213(1) provided that “no right as executor or legatee can be established in any Court of Justice” unless a competent court had granted probate or letters of administration with the will annexed. It applied only to certain wills: not to wills of Muslims or Indian Christians, and, for Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains, only to the classes in section 57; for Parsis, to wills within the original civil jurisdiction of the Calcutta, Madras and Bombay High Courts and their immovable property.

The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 (Act 37 of 2025, assent 20 December 2025, published 21 December 2025) provides in its Second Schedule that “section 213 shall be omitted”, with consequential changes to sections 3 and 370. Its section 4 says it does not affect “any right, title, obligation or liability already acquired, accrued or incurred” or proceedings already begun. Probate itself is still granted (section 222: “only to an executor appointed by the will”; section 227: it “establishes the will from the death of the testator”). A bank, a registrar or a co-heir may still ask for it. A succession certificate, a separate document, is granted “with respect to any debt or security” (section 370), not for land or buildings.

Changing the title: mutation

Inheriting does not update the land or municipal record. The heir applies to the local revenue or municipal authority, whose name for the entry differs by state. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s 2023-24 fee schedule, for example, shows mutation of a simple case and the first mutation certificate as “NIL”, while a duplicate certificate costs ₹100. Other cities set their own fees: ask the authority for its checklist (death certificate, will or proof of heirship, tax receipts). See property tax in Indian cities for municipal portals.

Stamp duty on dividing an inheritance

Inheriting by succession or by will is not a sale. If heirs later divide the property by a partition or release deed, state stamp duty applies to the deed. As I read the Rajasthan registration department’s rate sheet, a partition deed of ancestral property carries no stamp duty and other partitions 6%. Other states differ: read your state’s schedule.

Tax

Section 92(3)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 says that money or property received “under a will or by way of inheritance” is outside the charge on receipts without consideration that applies above ₹50,000 (section 92(2)(m)). On a later sale, the heir’s cost of acquisition is the previous owner’s cost plus improvements (section 73, Table serial number 1), and the previous owner’s holding period counts (section 2(101)(c)(B)(I)), so the 24-month test for a long-term asset may already be met. Capital gains are in capital gains tax on property.

For NRIs and OCIs

The RBI’s FAQ on immovable property says an NRI or OCI may acquire by inheritance immovable property from a person who acquired it under the laws in force, or from a resident, and its inheritance entry carries no exclusion for agricultural land, which the same FAQ excludes from purchases by an NRI. Selling and sending money abroad then follow the FEMA rules: see repatriation of sale proceeds.

Which professional to consult

A property lawyer (advocate) enrolled with the State Bar Council handles probate or letters of administration, partition and release deeds. A chartered accountant advises on the sale and tax. The local revenue or municipal office handles mutation.