Stamp Duty and Registration

Part 1

v           General

It is necessary to pay stamp duty on the agreement to sell flats in Co-operative Housing Societies. Documents on which proper stamp duty is not paid are invalid. Invalid documents will not be accepted as evidence by courts. Various authorities are empowered to impound documents on which proper stamp duty is not paid. If documents are impounded, penalty @ 2% per month of the deficit stamp duty, subject to a maximum of ten times of the deficit stamp duty, will be levied.

v           Who has to pay

Either party to the agreement can pay the stamp duty if there is an agreement to that effect. If there is no such agreement, the purchaser is liable to pay the stamp duty.

v           Adjudication of correct stamp duty

The purchaser of the property can approach the sub-registrar of the area in whose jurisdiction the property is situated to ascertain the market value of the property.

Under Section 31 of the Bombay Stamp Act, a party to a document can submit an application to the stamp office to adjudicate the correct stamp duty payable on a document. Such an application has to be accompanied by a draft of the document and an affidavit containing the following particulars:

(a)    Municipal Ward Zone and City Serve Number No.

(b)    Exact location of the property  --- Name of Village

(c)    Area of the property In sq. Mts, ( stamp duty is calculated on the built up area of the property)

(d)    Year of construction

(e)    Number of floors of the building

(f)      Whether lift is available in the building etc.

If the Society is registered, a letter from the society confirming the area of the flat, year of construction and the availability of lift, and property card should be furnished along with the application.

On the receipt of the above documents/details and the fee for adjudication, the stamp office will adjudicate the proper stamp duty payable on the document.

If the applicant pays the stamp duty, the stamp office will certify the documents as duly stamped.

If the applicant does not agree with the amount of stamp duty assessed by the stamp office, the applicant can request the stamp office to refer the matter to the competent authority, an appeal can be filed before the Deputy Inspector General of registration and Deputy Controller of Stamps of the area concerned under Section 32 B of the Bombay Stamp Act. Appeal has to be filed within sixty days from the date of order and must be accompanied by fees not exceeding Rs.300/- as may be decided by the government.