Rs 100-cr stamp duty evasion unearthed

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 4

A survey got conducted by the Revenue Department through two private firms for assessing undervalued registries in 12 tehsils hints at a huge evasion of stamp duty in the state. According to the survey, the exchequer suffered a massive loss due to connivance among sub-registrars, registry clerks and sale deed writers.

While the survey reports for tehsils in Ludhiana and Mohali are still being cross-checked for putting up a final audit note, the process has been through for two tehsils of Jalandhar. The overall recoverable amount for the 12 tehsils is estimated to be well over Rs 100 crore. A deficit of Rs 37.19 crore has been found in case of two tehsils of Jalandhar, wherein 9,915 sale deeds executed in three years (2011 onwards) have been found to be undervalued.

The staff of two companies, KPMG and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, had been auditing the sale deed records since August 2013. The most glaring cases of undervalued registries were those where commercial properties had been shown as residential and commercial to evade stamp duty.

As many as 4,740 undervalued sale deeds with a shortfall of Rs 26.39 crore had been found in Jalandhar-1, while 5,175 deeds with Rs 10.8 crore deficit have fallen under scrutiny in Jalandhar-2 subdivision. With the list of recoverable amount ready, a four-member team of the private company has now been entrusted with the task of preparing recovery notices that will be signed by the tehsildars concerned.

In the event of the defaulters not paying their dues, the revenue officials have been told to proceed against them under Section 47A of the Indian Stamp Act.

Jalandhar-based RTI activist Sanjay Sehgal said he procured the 250-page audit note from the Revenue Department under the RTI Act to study lapses in consultation with account experts. He said there had been connivance among revenue staff with big builders to evade taxes. “The government must expedite recovery and spend the amount recovered on infrastructure development and the education sector,” he said.

Most tehsildars, however, have shown a contrary view and are all upfront in condemning the audit report of the private companies. “Most of the deficiencies that have been reported are because of retrospective orders such as on levy of education cess etc. Moreover, if a land owner showed his possession as agricultural land in record and later got it converted for commercial use by paying CLU charges, how are we to be blamed,” they have all been saying.

Financial Commissioner, Revenue, Karan Avtar Singh said, “I am still gathering inputs pertaining to surveys in all 12 tehsils. We have asked the companies to start assisting tehsildars in the collection of default amount.” Asked as to whether sub-registrars concerned and their staff would be proceeded against for dereliction of duty, he said, “Yes, that will happen in the next stage. We will ask them to explain the huge shortfall,” he said.