The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has ruled that a developer cannot shift stamp duty and registration charges to a homebuyer after committing to bear the expenses at the time of booking, directing a developer involved in a plotted project near Mumbai to pay interest to a buyer over delayed possession.
The ruling came after a dispute in which the developer argued that the allotment letter’s provision requiring it to pay stamp duty and registration charges was merely a typographical error. The developer claimed that the subsequent Agreement for Sale placed the responsibility on the purchaser.
“The provision in the Allotment Letter stating that the promoter would bear the stamp duty and registration charges was merely a typographical error, whereas the subsequently executed Agreement for Sale has placed such liability upon the purchaser. Hence, it has denied any liability to refund such amounts and has disputed the complainant’s calculation of payments towards stamp duty and registration charges,” the developer told MahaRERA.
The developer also argued that the buyer was not entitled to interim relief and had allegedly failed to cooperate with execution of the final Sale Deed. It maintained that possession could not legally be given while the deed remained unregistered.
MahaRERA Rejects Developer’s Argument
MahaRERA rejected the contention and observed that the buyer had received an allotment letter and that the developer had acknowledged receiving substantial payments. The authority held that the absence of a registered agreement did not remove the buyer’s status as an allottee.
The authority also highlighted Section 13 of the RERA Act, which restricts a developer from accepting more than 10% of a property’s cost without first executing a written and registered Agreement for Sale. In this case, the developer had reportedly received almost the entire consideration despite the agreement remaining unregistered.
MahaRERA directed both parties to complete registration of the agreement.
On the stamp duty issue, the authority referred to the developer’s own project disclosures. Its order stated, “As far as the issue of stamp duty and registration charges, raised by the complainant, MahaRERA has noticed that, in the deviation report dated 07-01-2025 uploaded by the developer on the MahaRERA website in respect of its model agreement for sale, has specifically provides that the developer shall bear the stamp duty and registration charges payable on the agreement and the documents executed pursuant thereto.”
The authority further said, “The developer cannot now contend that the similar provision mentioned in the said allotment letter was merely a typographical error and thereafter seek to execute an agreement for sale by shifting the said liability upon the buyer. The developer is bound by its own project disclosures made before.”
The order reinforces the importance of developers adhering to commitments made in allotment documents and project disclosures when dealing with homebuyers.
Source: Hindustan Times
