Sections 308-315 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
After s.307 on the power to dispose of property, Chapter VI of Part IX closes with eight short sections on how an executor or administrator may spend, what he may charge, what he may not buy, and how the office works when there are several executors, when one dies, and in a few special cases. This article reads sections 308 to 315, as per the text of the Act consulted.
An executor or administrator may incur expenditure on acts necessary for the proper care or management of estate property, and, with the sanction of the High Court, on reasonable and proper religious, charitable and other objects and improvements (s.308). He may not receive or retain commission or agency charges at a higher rate than that fixed for the Administrator-General by or under the Act the text names (s.309). If he buys any part of the property, directly or indirectly, the sale is voidable at the instance of any other person interested (s.310). Any one of several executors who has proved the will or taken out administration may exercise the powers of all, unless there is a direction to the contrary (s.311).
Section 308: general powers of administration
Section 308 allows an executor or administrator, "in addition to, and not in derogation of" any other powers of expenditure lawfully exercisable by him, to incur expenditure:
- (a) on such acts as may be necessary for the proper care or management of any property belonging to any estate administered by him; and
- (b) with the sanction of the High Court, on such religious, charitable and other objects, and on such improvements, as may be reasonable and proper in the case of such property.
The difference is in the approval. Care and management (a) needs no sanction in the text; the objects and improvements in (b) need the High Court's sanction, and must be "reasonable and proper in the case of such property".
Section 309: commission or agency charges
An executor or administrator is not entitled to receive or retain any commission or agency charges "at a higher rate than that for the time being fixed in respect of the Administrator-General by or under the Administrator-General's Act, 1913 (3 of 1913)". The copy consulted prints the Act's name without the apostrophe, and the reference is quoted as printed. The text states no rate; it points to the rate fixed for the Administrator-General. The reader should check the current law for the corresponding provision.
For how a trustee's right to charge for services is treated in a separate Act, see our post on section 50 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. It is a different statute, named here only for comparison.
If you are an executor and are unsure what you may spend or charge, a short legal consultation before you pay out can avoid later questions from the beneficiaries.
Section 310: purchase by executor or administrator
If any executor or administrator purchases, either directly or indirectly, any part of the property of the deceased, the sale is voidable at the instance of any other person interested in the property sold. The words "directly or indirectly" widen the rule; the text consulted does not list what counts as indirect. "Voidable" means the interested person can choose to challenge it; the sale is not described as void.
An invented example: Mr. Chawla's executor, Deepak, arranges for a company in which he holds the controlling interest to buy a plot of the estate. The text does not decide whether that is "indirect" purchase; it sets the rule that a purchase by the executor, directly or indirectly, is voidable at the instance of any other person interested in the property sold. A comparable idea in the law of trusts appears in our post on sections 51 and 52 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882.
Section 311: several executors acting by one
When there are several executors or administrators, "the powers of all may, in the absence of any direction to the contrary, be exercised by any one of them who has proved the Will or taken out administration".
The Act's six illustrations:
- One of several executors has power to release a debt due to the deceased.
- One has power to surrender a lease.
- One has power to sell the property of the deceased, whether movable or immovable.
- One has power to assent to a legacy.
- One has power to endorse a promissory note payable to the deceased.
- The will appoints A, B, C and D to be executors and directs that two of them shall be a quorum. No act can be done by a single executor.
Illustrations 1 to 5 show the width of the rule; illustration 6 shows that a direction in the will can displace it. Note that illustration 3 speaks of a power of sale; for the classes named in s.307(2), that power is subject to the restrictions explained in our article on section 307. For co-trustees, a different Act applies its own rule: see sections 48 and 49 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882.
Sections 312 to 315: survivors and special cases
| Section | Rule as printed |
|---|---|
| 312 | On the death of one or more of several executors or administrators, in the absence of any direction to the contrary in the will or grant of letters of administration, all the powers of the office become vested in the survivors or survivor |
| 313 | The administrator of effects unadministered has, with respect to such effects, the same powers as the original executor or administrator |
| 314 | An administrator during minority has all the powers of an ordinary administrator |
| 315 | When a grant of probate or letters of administration has been made to a married woman, she has all the powers of an ordinary executor or administrator |
Section 312 is the survivorship rule: it applies unless a direction in the will or in the grant says otherwise. Sections 313, 314 and 315 each give the named office "the same powers" or "all the powers" of an ordinary executor or administrator. The text consulted does not say anything further about when each office arises; those grants are in other sections of Part IX.
Reading these sections together
Sections 308 to 315 are about the office and its limits. They answer: what may be spent, what may be charged, what may not be bought, who may act when there are several, and whose powers continue after a death or in special cases. The duties that go with these powers are in the next Chapter; see our article on sections 316 to 318 and the general guide on executor duties under a will.
Later amendments are not shown in the text consulted, and the current law on commission and on sanction should be checked.
Need help as an executor?
If you act as an executor or administrator, or you are a beneficiary wanting to understand what the executor may do, we can explain these sections and help with documents. Start with our legal consultation service.
Key takeaways
- Expenditure on care and management of estate property is allowed; objects and improvements need the High Court's sanction (s.308).
- Commission or agency charges may not exceed the rate fixed for the Administrator-General under the Act the text names (s.309).
- A purchase of estate property by the executor or administrator, directly or indirectly, is voidable at the instance of any other person interested (s.310).
- One of several executors who has proved the will may exercise all powers unless there is a contrary direction (s.311); powers go to the survivors on a death (s.312).
Read next
- Section 307: power of executor or administrator to dispose of property
- Sections 316-318: funeral, inventory and account of the estate
- Sections 332-333: executor's assent to a legacy and its effect
- Executor duties under a will: probate, inventory and distribution
Disclaimer: Based on an unofficial print of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 showing amendments up to the Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 2002 (26 of 2002), as consulted on 2 October 2026. It explains the words of the statute only; later amendments, State amendments and rules, court fees and the way courts apply these sections should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.