Difference

Agreement to Sell merely creates a right to obtain another document, and in essence is an agreement wherein parties agree to agree on a future date and execute sale deed. Interest in property does not pass forthwith. This is not required to be registered (except for the purposes of part performance S.17(1A) IRA) Sale deed effects a complete vesting of interest in the transferee, and is required to be registered compulsorily in order to be effective, otherwise it's just worth the paper it is on ! nothing more than that.

Currently even the agreement to sale requires to be properly stamped and registered as the authorities have found many instances in which the agreement to sale has been executed and majority portion or all the consideration has exchanged hands but the document is not stamped and registered.

An unregistered agreement to sale cannot be used as evidence. Any transaction related to immovable property has to be registered.

S Jadhav