Srinagar, Feb 4: Jammu and Kashmir High Court has stayed a government circular issued by the Inspector General of Registration, J&K regarding stamp duty on 30 December last year.
The Circular requires all Registrars and Sub-Registrars to charge stamp duty as per new rates with effect from 1 January 2021 irrespective of the date of uploading of documents onto the National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS), date of filing of the documents with the Registrars/Sub-Registrars.
“In the meantime, the impugned circular issued by the Inspector General of Registration, J&K, Jammu is stayed,” said a bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar passed the orders after hearing a petition filed by one Shabnam Nazir who contended through her lawyer that date of the execution of a document determines the rate at which stamp duty has to be affixed on a document and not the date on which, the document is actually registered by the Sub-Registrar.
To support the contention, her counsel referred to Section 47 of Registration Act, according to which, a document, irrespective of date of its registration, takes effect from the date of its execution.
The counsel further argued that the Inspector General of Registration has no jurisdiction to issue a circular in respect of charging of stamp duties.
Observing that the petition raises an important questions of law, the court admitted it to hearing and issued notice to the government returnable by April 12 .
The court also directed concerned Sub Registrar to consider the document in question presented by the woman for Registration.I”n case the same fulfills all other requirements of law and rules, the document be admitted to Registration without insisting in payment of stamp duty on revised rates, subject to filing of an undertaking by the petitioner (Shabnam) that in case she fails in this petition, she shall make good the deficiency of stamp duty.”
