Applicant Can Seek Refund For Unused Stamp Paper Post 6 Months, If Unaware During Such Time That It Won’t Be Of ‘Immediate Use’: Delhi HC
Case: Citius Real Estate (P) Ltd. v. Union of India and Anr.
Coram: Justices Vibhu Bakhru and Amit Mahajan
Case No.: W.P.(C) No.6904/2020
Court Observation: “…this highlights a gap in the statutory provisions in respect of a case, where a person with the bona fide intention purchases the stamp paper by making full payment for the same and discovers after a period of six months that the stamp paper is of no use. In light of the decision of Supreme Court in Rajeev Nohwar, Section 54 of the Act is not applicable to such a case as the person purchasing the stamp duty did not have the knowledge, within the period of six months of purchasing the stamps, that the stamps purchased would be of no immediate use”.
“…if the provisions of Sections 54(c) and 50(2) of the Act are juxtaposed, it would be clear that a person would be entitled to file an application for refund of stamp duty two months after the stamp paper has been spoiled notwithstanding, that more than six months have elapsed after the stamp was purchased, but he cannot apply for refund in respect of the stamp paper that is in a pristine condition after six months of the date of purchase of the said paper…If Section 54 of the Act is read as restricting the right for seeking refund in a case such as the present one, it would suffer from the vice of arbitrariness and fall foul of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.”
“…if the provisions of the Act are construed in a manner so as to permit collection and retention of stamp duty, which is not chargeable without any recourse for refund whatsoever, it would run contrary to the scheme of the Act.”
“There is considerable merit in the petitioner’s contention that there is an anomaly in restricting the time period for seeking an allowance under Section 54 of the Act to only six months after the stamp paper has been purchased when compared with the time period available for making an application in respect of stamps that are spoiled, obliterated or rendered unfit for use.”
“…the legislative intent is to refund the stamp duty to refund the amount paid for the purchase of stamps if the same are not used or cannot be used for discharging of the liability to pay stamp duty”.
“Section 54(c) of the Act and Section 50 of the Act indicate that the legislative intent to confine the period for seeking allowance to not exceed six months after the cause of action has arisen …in cases where the applicant applies for refund of unused stamps/stamp certificate within a period of six months of becoming aware that he has no immediate use of the same, the claim for refund cannot be stated to be delayed and must be admitted”.
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Applicant Can Seek Refund
