Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited Vs District Revenue Officer (Stamps) & Anr. (Supreme Court of India)
Summary: The Supreme Court considered whether proceedings under Section 47-A of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 could be initiated merely where the registering authority had reason to believe that the market value or consideration stated in an instrument had not been truly set forth, or whether the authority was additionally required to have material indicating wilful undervaluation with fraudulent intention to evade proper stamp duty. The appeal arose from proceedings concerning Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited’s purchase of land from the Government of India.
The appellant had paid the entire sale consideration through cheques in 2014 and obtained possession on 21 January 2014. A deed of transfer was executed on 24 June 2016, upon which stamp duty and registration charges were paid on the stated sale consideration. The registering authority nevertheless made a reference under Section 47-A, followed by a Form-I show cause notice dated 22 August 2016 alleging deficit stamp duty. The Single Judge of the Madras High Court quashed the notice, relying principally upon V.N. Devadoss, which had held that exercise of Section 47-A required material indicating wilful undervaluation with fraudulent intent to evade stamp duty. The Division Bench reversed that order and restored the proceedings for adjudication under the statutory mechanism.
