GPA

Also: General Power of Attorney, AGPA

MEANING

An authorisation to act on an owner's behalf — and, as the agreement-of-sale-cum-GPA, the classic device for passing land without a sale deed.

The AGPA (agreement of sale coupled with GPA) was long used to dodge full stamp duty. The Supreme Court in Suraj Lamp (2011) held that a GPA "sale" conveys no title; only a registered conveyance does. Unwinding old GPA chains is a recurring feature of land enquiries.