- (1.) Heard Sri Ravikant, learned senior counsel assisted by Sri M.C. Chaturvedi, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Sanjay Goswami, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel along with Sri Ram Sewak Prajapati, learned standing counsel for the State-respondents.
(2.) The short point involved in this writ petition is as to whether, the U.P. Act No.22 of 1998 by which Article 5(b-1) of Schedule 1-B was amended w.e.f. 01.09.1998 will be applicable to an agreement to sell executed on 22.08.1998 or not.
(3.) The facts of the case in brief are that an agreement to sell was entered on 22.08.1998, which was presented for registration on 01.09.1998. In the meantime, the Indian Stamp (U.P. Amendment) 1997 (U.P. Act No.22 of 1998) was published in the Gazette on 31.08.1998 by which the clause (b-1) was added to Section 5 as under: Description of instrument Proper Stamp-duty "5. Agreement or memorandum of an agreement- (a) ............................ (b) ............................ (b-1) if relating to the sale of an immovable property where possession is not admitted to have been delivered nor is agreed to be delivered without executing the conveyance; Provided that when conveyance in pursuance of such agreement is executed, the duty paid under this clause in excess of the duty payable under clause (c) shall be adjusted towards the total duty payable on the conveyance. The same duty as on conveyance [No.23 clause (a)] on one half of the amount of consideration as set forth in the agreement. The aforesaid provision came into force on 01.09.1998.;