Selling land bought 40 years ago? Here's how to prove the ownership without copy of agreement.

• Revenue records and mutation entries can prove ownership without a deed.
• LTCG tax applies as land is now non-agricultural; use 2001 value for cost basis.
• Valuation report or stamp duty rate from 2001 can help determine capital gains

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Wondering what the tax liability is if you sell the agricultural property bought 40 years back? Today’s Ask Wallet Wise explains that since the land is no longer used for agricultural purposes, the registered sale deed serves as a primary document for legal transfer of title and payment of LTCG tax.

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An agricultural property was bought 40 years ago but we do not have the purchase deed for the same. This is no longer agricultural land. Now we are selling it in 2026. How to establish its ownership and determine the tax liability?

Expert’s Advice: Since the agricultural property you purchased 40 years ago, for which no original sale deed is available, you can still establish its ownership through revenue records. The registered sale deed is the primary document for legal transfer of title but long-term possession combined with entries in revenue records (maintained by the revenue department) often serves as strong evidence of ownership, especially in respect of very old transactions where the deed is lost.

The primary way to establish your ownership without the original sale deed is by providing the documents, which serve as evidence of continuous entry of your name (or your predecessor's) in the official revenue records for many decades. These records are considered reliable proof for long-held agricultural land.

The Record of Rights, called jamaband, which is the main record updated every few years, showing ownership, cultivation, and possession details, can also help you. If your name appears there as owner/haqdaar since the time of purchase (via mutation entries), it strongly supports your claim.

You can also produce the Mutation Entries, which record changes in the revenue register for transfers (sale, inheritance, etc.). Even if the original purchase was not registered, a mutation might have been entered based on an unregistered agreement, possession, or local practice at the time.

Long-standing mutations, especially unchallenged for decades, help prove the ownership. Other documents, like old revenue (lagan) receipts, electricity bills for the tube well connection, may also help you establish your ownership.

Since this is no longer agricultural land, you will have to pay long-term capital gains tax on the capital gains. As the property was acquired prior to April 1, 2001, you can take the fair market value on that date as your cost, for which you will need to obtain a valuation report on that date. You can adopt the stamp duty rate if the same is available.

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