immovable property
Section 3(26) of the General Clauses Act, 1897 defines immovable property to include land, benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth. Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 adds that it does not include standing timber, growing crops or grass. The Registration Act, 1908 has its own definition, which includes rights of way, lights, ferries and fisheries.
The test for a thing attached to the earth is the degree and purpose of annexation: a building, or machinery fixed so as to become part of the land, is immovable; machinery merely resting on the ground for its better use as a chattel is movable. The distinction matters because transfers of immovable property worth one hundred rupees or more, and gifts of any value, generally need a registered instrument.
Example
Standing timber sold to be cut and removed is not immovable property, so the sale needs no registration.
In Indian law
- Section 3(26), General Clauses Act, 1897
- Section 3, Transfer of Property Act, 1882
See also
movable property · transfer of property · registration · easement
Read more in the study notes
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- The central bank and the Reserve Bank of India: evolution, organisation and functions (Banking Law)
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- Lending by banks: principles, priority sector, securities, interest and penalty (Banking Law)
- Default and recovery: Debts Recovery Tribunals and the SARFAESI Act (Banking Law)
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