Power of Attorney :

A power of Attorney is a document duly stamped as per Stamp Act and given by a customer to his banker, authorizing his attorney or agent named therein to operate the account. The banker should ensure that the document:

– gives specific authority to the named person to operate the named account on behalf of the customer,

– is properly stamped and notarized,

– is valid and not time barred,

– does not contain conditions or limitations on the authority of the attorney,

– binds the principal for all the transactions done by the attorney.

The Power of Attorney is then registered in the branch’s documents and the attorney’s signature is recorded in the account for its operation.

A ‘Mandate’, which is a simpler and a general purpose version of the Power of attorney, is a simple authority given in writing to the banker by a customer, authorizing a named person to operate the account temporarily for a specified period.