HC rules Stamp Duty cannot be hiked retrospectively
17/12/2025
JAMMU, Dec 16: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has delivered a major ruling in favour of homebuyers and property purchasers, holding that stamp duty cannot be levied at enhanced rates retrospectively, and must be charged strictly according to the rate prevailing on the date of execution of the document. Justice Rajesh Sekhri passed the judgment while quashing refusal orders issued by the Sub Registrar, Srinagar, who had declined to register several sale deeds unless they were stamped at the increased rates introduced from January 1, 2021.
The petitioners-whose sale deeds were executed and uploaded through the NDGRS portal in December 2020-approached the Court after the Sub Registrar refused registration based on a circular dated December 30, 2020 issued by the Inspector General of Registration. The circular directed that enhanced stamp duty rates would apply from January 1, 2021 onward. However, the Court noted that the documents had been properly executed and presented for registration within the statutory four-month period, as required under Section 23 of the Registration Act, 1977.
Justice Sekhri held that the chargeable event for stamp duty is the execution of the instrument, not its subsequent presentation or registration. Citing Sections 17, 2(6), and 33(2) of the J&K Stamp Act, the Court emphasized-through statutory extracts reproduced in the judgment (page 5)-that instruments must be stamped according to the law in force at the time they are executed. Any insistence on applying enhanced rates to previously executed documents was declared "illegal" and contrary to statutory mandate.
The Court also clarified that the December 30, 2020 circular was prospective in effect. Since the government had not expressed any intention to give it retrospective operation, it could not be used to impose financial burdens on transactions completed before January 1, 2021. The Court described the Sub Registrar's refusal orders as "manifestly erroneous" and lacking legal justification.
Setting aside all refusal orders, the High Court directed the Sub Registrar to register the petitioners' sale deeds within one week of receiving the judgment. It further ordered circulation of the judgment to all Registrars and Sub Registrars across the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh to ensure uniform application of the law.
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