Electronic vs manual post-deed registrations

Abstract

The notarial profession has evolved drastically through the years, and so have some of the procedures of the profession. According to Chapter 55 - Notarial Profession and Notarial Archives Act, a notary who publishes a public deed, must within fifteen (15) working days, register such deed in the public registry, and shall provide the Notarial Archives with a register of all deeds published yearly. Registration of such public deeds (and in some cases, private writings such as assignments of rights), have always been a process through which duty on documents and taxes are collected, however, in recent years, an online registration system has been introduced to facilitate the registration process. The online system offers a practicing notary the convenience of uploading certain documents online which in turn will be approved and a barcode or QR code is generated to be able to pay the relevant taxes and present such at the Commissioner for Revenue. After this is processed, notes of enrolment are then processed and given an enrolment number which will reflect the original deed. This research will explore and determine weak points of the current system and aim to propose a system which further aids a practicing notary by implementing more favourable measures and communicate ambiguities. First and foremost, this will be done by establishing what are post-deed registrations, and what is required by a notary to submit the same. Once that is established, one has to compare the traditional manual system vis a vis an electronic system, its pros and cons, what is sufficient enough and what needs improvement. Finally, this research will propose a system whereby registrations can be done online in full, practical, generating less impact on the environment and a quicker and a more real-time registration process, eliminating wait time and making it a smoother process for both notaries and government officials.