A loan secured on your property or vehicle ends with two things from Basel: your original documents back, and every charge Basel registered over the asset removed. This page sets out the time Basel has to do both, and what happens if it does not.
What this covers
Every loan for which Basel holds original documents or has registered a charge over an asset, including a Loan Against Property (title documents, and the mortgage), and vehicle loans (the hypothecation noted on the registration certificate). It applies to loans repaid in full and to loans settled.
Within 30 days of closure
Within 30 days of your loan being repaid in full or settled, Basel will return all your original documents and remove every charge it registered with any registry, such as the hypothecation recorded with the transport authority or a charge recorded with the Central Registry (CERSAI).
The timeline and the place where your documents will be returned are stated in your loan sanction letter.
Where you collect them
You choose where to collect your documents:
- from the office where your loan account was serviced; or
- from any other Basel office where the documents are available.
Basel’s offices are listed on the contact page. Tell Basel which office you want, in writing, at any time before your loan closes: by email to [email protected] or at the office servicing your loan. If you do not state a preference, your documents are held for collection at the office that serviced the loan.
Compensation for delay
If Basel does not return your documents or remove its charge within 30 days, and the delay is attributable to Basel, Basel will pay you ₹5,000 for each day of delay. Basel will tell you the reasons for any delay.
If documents are lost or damaged
If your original documents are lost or damaged, in part or in full, while with Basel, Basel will help you obtain duplicate or certified copies and bear all the costs of doing so. Basel then has a further 30 days, 60 days in all, after which the compensation of ₹5,000 for each day of delay applies.
Return to legal heirs
If a sole borrower, or all joint borrowers, have died, Basel returns the documents to their legal heirs. The Reserve Bank requires this procedure to be published here.
- Tell Basel. Write to Basel with the loan account or reference and a copy of the death certificate.
- Close the loan. Documents are returned once the loan is repaid or settled.
- Establish who is entitled. Basel asks for the death certificate, proof of entitlement (a legal heir certificate, a succession certificate, or probate of the will or letters of administration, as the case requires), officially valid identity and address proof of each claimant, and an indemnity in Basel’s standard form. Where there are other heirs who are not collecting, Basel asks for their written no-objection.
- Agree who collects. Where there is more than one heir, the documents are handed over to all of them together, or to one of them authorised in writing by the others.
- Receive the documents. Within 30 days of the loan being repaid or settled and entitlement being established, whichever is later. The same compensation of ₹5,000 for each day of delay applies to legal heirs.
This procedure follows the Reserve Bank’s circular of 13 September 2023, which requires it to be published here. It is subject to ratification by Basel’s board, and any change will be published on this page.
Pledged gold
Gold pledged for a Basel Gold Loan has its own, shorter timeline under the Reserve Bank of India (Lending Against Gold and Silver Collateral) Directions, 2025:
- It is returned on the day the loan is repaid or settled in full, and in any case within 7 working days.
- If it is late, Basel pays you, or your legal heirs, ₹5,000 for each day of delay beyond that.
If something goes wrong
If your documents are late, incomplete or damaged, or compensation has not been paid, raise a complaint and quote your loan reference. If it is not resolved within 30 days, you may complain to the RBI Ombudsman.