News: Bombay HC: Rs 70.12 Lakh Stamp Duty Refund on Cancelled DA-26-08-2026
A developer whose Development Agreement (DA) for a project in Balewadi, Pune, was cancelled before any development took place will get back the Rs 70.12 lakh it paid as stamp duty, the Bombay High Court has ruled. It held that a development transaction which fails before the intended development occurs qualifies for a refund under the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958.
The developer, through its partnership firm, signed the DA with a landowner in April 2013 to develop 8,000 sq m (over 86,111 sq ft). The building plans were not sanctioned, disputes followed, and the agreement was cancelled by a registered Cancellation Deed in February 2014. The stamp authorities rejected the developer’s refund application, and it moved the High Court.
The Maharashtra government submitted that the DA was cancelled because possession of the property was not handed over in the stipulated time. It contended that a refund had to be sought within six months of the DA, on or before October 14, 2013, whereas the developer applied on April 12, 2014, a delay of about six months and 22 days. It also argued that not every document whose duty is determined with reference to Article 25 is covered by that Article, and raised other technical objections.
The court found the material on record showed the transaction had failed before the development could be carried into effect and that the agreement was then cancelled through a registered instrument. The developer was therefore entitled to a refund under Section 47 read with the applicable proviso to Section 48(1) of the Act.
It directed the authorities to refund Rs.70,12,500 with simple interest at 6% per annum from 7 April 2014, described as the date of the refund application, until payment. The amount is to be paid within six weeks of the judgment being uploaded.
The developer could not be reached for a comment.
