Section 9: Registration of notarial deeds

9. Registration of notarial deeds (1) (a) Subject to the Inscription of Privileges and Mortgages Act, the Land (Duties and Taxes) Act, the Registration Duty Act and the Transcription and Mortgage Act, every notary shall be responsible for the payment of registration dues, land transfer tax, fees and charges on any notarial deed drawn up by him. (aa) Every notary shall submit to the Registrar-General, for registration, transcription or inscription, the notarial deed, and, where applicable, the appropriate form set out in the Sixth Schedule to the Transcription and Mortgage Act, duly filled in. (b) Payment to the Registrar-General of registration dues, land transfer tax, fees and charges referred to in paragraph (a) shall be effected electronically or in such other manner as the Registrar-General may determine. (c) For the purposes of taxing, scanning and registration, the submission of a notarial deed to the Registrar-General may be made in one original. (d) The submission referred to in paragraph (c) may be made by scanning the original deed and submitting the scanned copy thereof, which is taken to be the original deed for the purposes of taxing and registration. (e) For the purpose of paragraph (b), an online submission of a notarial deed, which is taken to be the original deed, may be made to the RegistrarGeneral. N37 – 5 [Issue 9] Notaries Act (f) Every notarial deed presented to the Registrar-General under section 34 (2) of the Registration Duty Act, shall, until it is handed back to the notary, be under the sole custody of the Registrar-General who shall cause an acknowledgement receipt to be issued to the notary to the effect that the Registrar-General has custody of the deed. (2) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), every notary shall cause a notarial deed drawn up by him, together with, in the case of a mortgage deed, the relevant memorandum of inscription, to be registered with the Registrar-General within 8 days from the date of the deed. (b) Every notary shall cause a will drawn up by, or deposited with, him to be registered with the Registrar-General within 3 months of— (i) the death of the testator; or (ii) the date on which he subsequently becomes aware of the death. (c) (i) The Registrar-General shall, from the information made available to him pursuant to this section and the Registration Duty Act, make up and keep a Register of Testamentary Dispositions, in such manner as he may determine, which may, on written application to that effect, be consulted by a notary or an attorney. (ii) A notary or an attorney may also request the Registrar-General to provide him with a certificate relating to an entry contained in Register referred to in subsection 3 (c). (3) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), no notary shall deliver an original or a certified copy of a notarial deed drawn up by him, or do any act pursuant to the deed, unless the deed is registered with the Registrar-General. (aa) The notary shall deliver, to the party to the deed, a certified copy or an authenticated copy of the deed “expédition”, within 8 days from the date of the registration of the deed with the Registrar-General. (b) A notary may deliver a certified copy of an authentic will to the testator before it is registered with the Registrar-General. (4) No notary shall, unless the document is registered with the RegistrarGeneral— (a) draw up a notarial deed based on a document under private signature or a notarial deed drawn up in a foreign State; or (b) include any su d copy or an authenticated copy of the deed “expédition”, within 8 days from the date of the registration of the deed with the Registrar-General. (b) A notary may deliver a certified copy of an authentic will to the testator before it is registered with the Registrar-General. (4) No notary shall, unless the document is registered with the RegistrarGeneral— (a) draw up a notarial deed based on a document under private signature or a notarial deed drawn up in a foreign State; or (b) include any such document among the notarial deeds drawn up by him or receive it on deposit. (5) No notary shall receive a deed or other document without having drawn up a notarial deed certifying that the deposit is being made and causing it to be registered with the Registrar-General. [S. 9 amended by s. 17 of Act 20 of 2009 w.e.f. 19 December 2009; by s. 3 of Act No. 16 of 2009 w.e.f. 7 December 2009; by s. 17 of Act 20 of 2009 w.e.f. 19 December 2009; s. 18 (b) of Act 26 of 2013 w.e.f. 19 May 2014; 2 July 2015; s. 22 (a) of Act 4 of 2017 w.e.f. 20 May 2017.] [Issue 9] N37 – 6 Revised Laws of Mauritius