SABYASACHI BHATTACHARYYA,J. - (1.) The Court: 1. The Governor of West Bengal granted lease of plot no. AC-137, SectorI, Bidhannagar, Kolkata - 700 064 in favour of one Adhir Kumar Ganguly for 999 years, by a registered deed of lease dated January 11, 1972. Adhir Kumar Ganguly, by a registered deed of transfer dated November 11, 1987, transferred his leasehold right in the plot to Atma Ram Saraf and Kishan Kumar Saraf. The transferees obtained a sanctioned plan, subsequently revised, for construction of a threestoried building on the said plot and had their names mutated in the records of the Urban Development Department, Government of West Bengal. Subsequently, Atma Ram Saraf (present petitioner), executed a gift deed of his undivided half share in the leasehold property to his brother Gouri Shankar Saraf (respondent no.5). The said deed was presented for registration before the Additional Registrar of Assurances-II, Kolkata. The petitioner made a query for assessment of stamp duty and registration charges for the said deed. Such query was answered by assessing the stamp duty at Rs.2,41,713/-. The petitioner deposited the said stamp duty and registration charges on July 2, 2019 through the GRIPS System. The query and assessed market value were valid for 30 days (that is, upto July 26, 2019) from the date of e-payment.
(2.) However, subsequently, the Registering Authority refused to complete the registration process on the ground that stamp duty would be payable on the gift deed as per market value of the property, that is, at the rate of 6 per cent of the market value, and not half per cent of the market value which is charged for gift deeds between blood relations. The petitioner has preferred the writ petition challenging such assessment and consequential inaction of the respondent-authorities in refusing to register the gift deed unless the balance stamp duty was paid.
(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner argues that the original lease in favour of Adhir Kumar Ganguly was granted for 999 years. It was mentioned in Clause 2(2) of the said deed that it was one of the duties of the lessee to pay all rates and taxes and other impositions in respect of the demised land and structure as assessed to be payable by the "owner" or the occupier thereof. Hence, it is argued that the transfer-in-question pertained to rights in the property, which was, for all practical purposes, akin to ownership rights in view of the long period of the lease. Thus, counsel submits, stamp duty payable on the deed of gift ought to have been assessed at half of one per centum of the market value as per Article 33(i) of Schedule IA of the Indian Stamp Act, as applicable in West Bengal, which governs gift deeds.;