Case Comment On Hindusthan Lever & Anr V/S State Of Maharashtra& Anr: The Legal Validity Of The Stamp Duty Levied On The Court Order Sanctioning M&A Deals
Muhammed Ijaz V, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi
Introduction
Stamp duty is one of the crucial taxes levied by the government of India during the execution of various documents or instruments specified in the Indian Stamp Act 1899, or the stamps act enacted by the various state legislatures as the case may be. The key principle governing the computation of the stamp duty is the nature of the instrument or document involved in relevant transactions and the stamp duties accordingly.
The legal framework with reference to the stamp duty regime in India traces their ultimate source from the Constitution of India itself. The 7th schedule of the constitutions demarcates the various fields in which states and union legislature can enact upon or both, and the stamp duty matters is broadly included in the all the three lists (Entry 91 of Union List, Entry 63 of state list and Entry 44 of the Concurrent list). However, the matters relating to the computation of the stamp duty has been one of the often-contested taxation matters. There have been several instances in which the various High courts and even supreme court of India has came up with various judgements in resolution to various legal disputes arising from the computation and applicability of the stamp duty in various transactions through instruments or documents.
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