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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
M.S.KARNIK, S.M.MODAK
Ethics Infra Development Pvt Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
State of Maharashtra Through its Secretary, Housing Development Department – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
S.M.MODAK, J.
1. Heard learned Advocate Shri.Raut for the petitioner and learned AGP for the respondents-State.
2. The issue involved in this petition is about entitlement of the petitioner to claim refund of a stamp duty paid on Redevelopment Rights Agreement dated 19th December 2013. It was a ‘Registered Agreement’. The present petitioner has been described as a Developer and one Adinarayan Co-operative Housing Society Limited has been described as a Society. A stamp duty of Rs.20,49,000/- (Rupees Twenty Lakh Forty Nine Thousand) was paid. This Agreement was cancelled mutually and a “Deed of Cancellation” was executed on 8th March 2017 between the same parties.
3. On this background, the petitioner asked for refund of a stamp duty vide their Application dated 24th September 2019 to the Collector of Stamps for the reason that the parties have not acted upon the “Redevelopment Agreement” and even the possession of the property was not handed over. The Collector of Stamps has forwarded this proposal to the respondent No.2, who as per his order dated 27th October 2021, had rejected the proposal for two reasons, one being that the “Redevelopment Rights Agreement” does not fall
The court clarified that Section 47 of the Maharashtra Stamp Act governs refund claims for spoiled stamps, while Section 48 only sets the limitation period, necessitating an inquiry into the claim.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the petitioner is entitled to a refund of the stamp duty amount under the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958, despite the initial document being unex....
The government notification creating an indefeasible right for reduced stamp duty on conveyances influenced the court's decision in favor of the petitioner.
The court established that the right to claim a refund of stamp duty is not extinguished by the expiration of the statutory limitation period, emphasizing the need for a merits-based evaluation.
Refund of stamp duty is permissible under the Maharashtra Stamps Act when the transaction fails, and the application for refund must be made within the prescribed period.
The right to claim a refund of stamp duty is governed by statutory provisions, and failure to comply with the prescribed limitation period without sufficient justification precludes the possibility o....
Refund of Stamp Duty – Denying a legitimate refund solely on technical grounds of limitation, fails to strike equitable balance ordinarily expected in fiscal or quasi-judicial determinations.
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