( 1 ) A reference to this Court has been made by a learned single Judge of this Court by an order dated 8-10-2001: whether the stamp duty and penalty leviable under Explanation I of Article 47-A can be levied only on the portion of the amount paid, in view of the recitals made in an agreement of sale coupled with delivery of possession or is leviable on the total consideration specified in the agreement of sale though a portion of the sale consideration is payable at a future date i. e. , on the date of execution of a registered sale deed.

( 2 ) AN agreement of sale was entered into on 17-10-1996 whereby and where under an amount of Rs. 1,00,000/- out of a total consideration of Rs. 1,40,000/- was paid by way of advance and later on 20-3-1997 the sale deed was executed. Submissions:

( 3 ) MR. O. Manohar Reddy, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner contends that the Court below erred in law in holding that the document dated 17-10-1996 is a sale deed only on the ground that the possession has been delivered to the petitioner and that the court below ought to have seen that mere delivery of possession of the property to the agreement holder does not convert the agreement of sale into a sale deed.

( 4 ) THE learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents, on the other hand, would submit that the decision of a division Bench of this Court in B. Ratnamala v. G. Rudramma is absolutely explicit and unambiguous.

( 5 ) THE rival contentions of the learned counsel for the parties revolve round interpretation of Article 47-A of the schedule I-A appended to the Indian Stamp act (for short the Act ) vis-a-vis Section 35 thereof. Section 3 of the Act provides for the mode and manner as regards chargeability of instruments with duty. Findings:

( 6 ) SECTION 3 (a) and Article 47-A of the schedule IA (Explanation I) respectively read thus: instruments chargeable with duty:- subject to the provisions of this Act and the. exemptions contained in schedule I, the following instruments shall be chargeable with duty of the amount indicated in that Schedule as the proper duty therefore, respectively, that is to say- (a) every instrument mentioned in that schedule which, not having been previously executed by any person, is executed in India on or after the first day of July, 1899; provided that no duty shall be chargeable in respect of- (2) any instrument for the sale, transfer or. other disposition, either absolutely or by way of mortgage or otherwise, of any ship or vessel, or any part, interest, share or property of or in any ship or vessel registered under the Merchant shipping Act, 1894, or under Act 19 of 1838, or the Indian Registration of Ships Act, 1841 (57 and 58 Vict, section 60,10 of 1841), as amended by subsequent Acts. 47-A: Sale as defined in Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act:- explanation I:- An agreement to sell followed by or evidencing delivery of possession of the property agreed to be sold shall be chargeable as a "sale" under this article: provided that, where subsequently a sale deed is executed in pursuance of an agreement of sale as aforesaid or in pursuance of an agreement referred to in clause (B) of Article 6, the stamp duty,, if any, already paid or recovered on the agreement of sale shall be adjusted towards the total duty leviable on the sale deed.

( 7 ) THE question, which therefore, arises for consideration is as to whether the penalty shall be levied on the consideration mentioned in the agreement for sale or in the deed of sale.

( 8 ) THE Act is a fiscal statute. It is now well settled that fiscal statute must be construed strictly. In H. S. Ltd. v. M/s. Dilip construction it has been held : the Stamp Act is a fiscal measure enacted to secure revenue for the State on certain classes of instruments: it is not enacted to arm a litigant with a weapon of technicality to meet the case of his opponent. The stringent provisions of the act are conceived in the interest of