Ajit Pawar son's Pune land deal cancelled; firm hit with double stamp duty of Rs 42 cr after revocation

After Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's announcement that the sale deed executed by his son Parth Pawar's firm for a prime land in Pune has been cancelled, it has come to light that Amadea Enterprises LLP will now have to pay double stamp duty, which comes to Rs 42 crore, for cancellation.

The Department of Registration and Stamps has informed Digvijay Amarsinh Patil, the cousin of Parth Pawar and a partner in Amadea Enterprises LLP, that the firm must pay the earlier 7 per cent stamp duty (5 per cent under the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1 per cent Local Body Tax and 1 per cent Metro Cess), as it had sought an exemption by claiming a data centre was proposed on the land.

It must also pay an additional 7 per cent stamp duty to execute the cancellation deed, officials from the department said.

According to the department, the firm had claimed a stamp duty exemption at the time of the sale deed by stating that a data centre would be set up on the land.

But the cancellation deed now submitted shows that the plan has been dropped, it noted.

On Thursday, the sale deed of 40 acres of government land in the upscale Mundhwa area to Amadea Enterprises came under the scanner for want of required clearances. Opposition leaders alleged that its market value was Rs 1,800 crore.

Based on a complaint filed by the Inspector General of Registrar's office, the Pimpri Chinchwad police registered a first information report against Digvijay Patil, Shital Tejwani (who represented the 272 'owners' of the land through a power of attorney), and sub-registrar R B Taru for alleged misappropriation and cheating.

Ajit Pawar on Friday claimed that Parth was unaware that the land purchased by his firm belonged to the government, and informed that the Rs 300 crore deal has now been cancelled.

Joint Sub Registrar, Class 2, A P Fulaware, in his order, said, "It is necessary to pay the stamp duty at the rate of 7 per cent (5 per cent under the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1 per cent Local Body Tax + 1 per cent Metro Cess). Hence, the deficit stamp duty and penalty pertaining to the sale deed must be deposited with the Stamps Collector, Pune City, and the said document must be duly stamped."

In the same letter, the official stated that to execute the cancellation deed of the said land, the firm will have to pay an additional 7 per cent stamp duty.

A copy of the letter clarified that the deed will only be cancelled once the stamp duty is paid.

Amadea Enterprises, a firm co-owned by Parth Pawar and his cousin Digvijay Patil, entered into an agreement with Shital Tejwani, the power of attorney representing 272 alleged land owners, and executed a sale deed for the 40-acre land in Mundhwa for Rs 300 crore.

The deal came under the scanner after it was revealed that the land belonged to 'Mumbai Sarkar', and while executing the deal, the firm had allegedly gotten the 7 per cent stamp duty waived by colluding with sub-registrar R B Taru, who executed the deal at the sub-registrar office.

The 7 per cent stamp duty for the Rs 300 crore deal comes to Rs 21 crore.

Talking to PTI, Joint Inspector General of Stamps and Registration, Rajendra Muthe, said that the proposal by Amadea at the time of the sale deed in May this year stated that they sought stamp duty exemption, citing that a data centre was proposed on the said land.

"However, during the scrutiny, it was revealed that an exemption cannot be given to such a proposal and hence, the firm will have to pay an earlier stamp duty that is 7 per cent and an additional 7 per cent to execute the cancellation deed," he said.