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Levy of Stamp Duty on Copies of Instruments executed Outside Maharashtra

While upholding the provisions of the Bombay Stamp Act, 1958, a division bench of the Bombay High Court held that imposing of stamp duty on copies of the Instruments executed outside Maharashtra would not amount to Double Taxation. 

While considering a bunch of petitions, the bench comprising Justice A.S Oka and Justice Vibha V. Kankanwadi rejected the argument that Section 7 read with Section 19 in so far as the same apply to the copies of the instruments are not constitutionally valid. 

Before the High Court, the petitioners impugned the constitutional validity of provisions of sections 3, 7 and 19 of the said Act to the extent it levies stamp duty on the copies of the instruments executed outside the State of Maharashtra. 

The petitioners submitted that the words “a copy of the instrument” was not in the Act at the time enactment and the same was subsequently added by the Maharashtra Act No. XVII of 1993. 

According to them, merely because a copy of the deed or a certified or a verified copy thereof is filed in the office of the Registrar of Companies in Mumbai as per the requirement of Section 125 of the Companies Act, it cannot be said that the original deed was received in the State of Maharashtra. It was urged that even the charging section i.e. further, as per Section 3, it is evident that the stamp duty is chargeable, provided an instrument mentioned in Schedule I to the said Act is executed out of the State and is received in the State.

Article referred: http://www.taxscan.in/no-double-taxation-levy-stamp-duty-executed-outside-maharashtra-bombay-hc/16948/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Taxscan+%28Top+Stories+%E2%80%93+Taxscan+%7C+Simplifying+Tax+Laws%29

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