Stamp Authority's Delay In Deciding Stamp Duty Cannot Be Used To Refuse Registration: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that a delay caused by the Stamp Authority in adjudicating stamp duty cannot be used to deny registration of a document when the party seeking registration was not responsible for the delay.

“A substantive legal right accrued to the Petitioners to have the document registered under the provisions of the Registration Act cannot stand defeated, merely on account of some delay, which is definitely not attributable to the party presenting the document for registration, that too for reasons beyond its control,” a Division Bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait M. Sethna observed.

The case concerned an Indenture of Lease executed by Kalpataru Gardens Limited on July 14, 2017. The company submitted it to the Collector of Stamps on August 9, 2017, for adjudication of stamp duty.

The stamp-duty adjudication continued for several years. Kalpataru later applied under the Maharashtra Stamp Duty Amnesty Scheme 2023. The Collector subsequently fixed the stamp duty at ₹22,25,888 by a revised interim order dated March 24, 2025, which the company paid.

The Collector passed the final adjudication order on April 3, 2025. The Joint Sub-Registrar nevertheless rejected the request for registration on the ground that the lease deed had not been presented within the time prescribed under the Registration Act, 1908.

Under Section 23 of the Registration Act, a document generally has to be presented for registration within four months of its execution. Section 25 permits a further period of up to four months where the delay is caused by urgent necessity or an unavoidable accident, subject to payment of a fine.

The authorities took the view that even this extended period had expired. Kalpataru argued that the delay could not be attributed to it because the stamp-duty adjudication was still pending.

The court found that Kalpataru had submitted the lease deed for adjudication in August 2017 and had continued to pursue the proceedings. It held that the delay in completing the adjudication was not attributable to the company.

The court relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Raj Kumar Dey v. Tarapada Dey, where the period during which an award remained in court custody was excluded while calculating the time for registration.

In the present case, the court found that the delay was “purely attributable” to the Collector of Stamps. It held that the delay could not be held against Kalpataru, which had been diligently pursuing the proceedings.

The court directed that the period from August 9, 2017 to April 3, 2025 be excluded while calculating the time for registration. It held that the lease deed ought to have been registered.

The writ petition was accordingly allowed.

For Petitioners: Senior Advocate Surel Shah, with Advocates Paritosh Jaiswal, Aditi Nagayach, and Makarand Savant, instructed by Perfect Law Solutions.

For Respondent Nos. 1 to 4: Advocate Prashant Kamble, AGP. kalpatru BHC