TMI Blog2007 (2) TMI 650X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hhatisgarh was carved out of the State of Madhya Pradesh in November, 2000. With a view to pre-assess the stamp duty payable on the instrument of sale and the impact thereof, an application was filed by the appellants for adjudication of the Collector in terms of Section 31 of the Act which occurs in Chapter III thereof. A report of a chartered designated valuer was enclosed with the said application. The Collector of Janjgir District, on receipt of the said application, formed a Valuation Committee comprising of Sub-Divisional Officer (Revenue) as Chairman, Sub-Divisional Officer (Building Roads) PWD, Sub-Divisional Officer (Forest) Champa, Assistant Mining Officer, Janjgir \026 Champa and District Registrar, Janjgir \026 Champa as members to inspect the properties and submit an independent report in regard to the valuation of the properties sought to be transferred. The Valuation Committee assessed the same at ₹ 42,18,31,288/-. Pursuant to or in furtherance of the said report, the stamp duty chargeable on the instrument under Section 31 of the Act was assessed by the Collector at ₹ 3,74,90,300/- and registration charges of ₹ 33,75,601/-. The said order was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itself in referring to the statements of Objects and Reasons which cannot be resorted to to interpret the plain meaning of a statute. Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents, would, on the other hand, support the judgment contending that Section 56 of the Act covers all situations and it is in fact a stand alone clause. Before embarking on the rival contentions of the parties, we may notice the relevant provisions of the Act. Sections 31 and 32 of the Act read as under: 31. Adjudication as to proper stamp.\027 (1) When any instrument, whether executed or not and whether previously stamped or not, is brought to the Collector, and the person bringing it applies to have the opinion of that officer as to the duty (if any) with which it is chargeable, and pays a fee of such amount (not exceeding five rupees and not less than fifty naye paise) as the Collector may in each case direct, the Collector shall determine the duty (if any) with which, in his judgment, the instrument is chargeable. (2) For this purpose the Collector may require to be furnished with an abstract of the instrument, and also with such affidavit or other e ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ief Controlling Revenue Authority may, on its own motion or on the application by any party, at any time for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the amount with which the instrument is chargeable with duty, call for and examine the record of any case disposed of by the Collector and may pass such order in reference thereto as it thinks fit. It is not in dispute that Sub-section (4) of Section 56 was inserted by the Indian Stamp (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Act, 1990 in the year 1990. Section 31 of the Act provides for a power of the Collector to determine the duty with which the instrument would be chargeable, if an application in this behalf is made. The power to determine the amount of stamp duty chargeable for the instrument is, thus, contained in Section 31. Section 32 merely provides for the consequences flowing from such determination. The Collector, in the event of fulfilling either of the conditions specified in Clauses (a) and (b) of Sub-section (1) of Section 32, is mandated to certify by endorsement on such instrument that the full duty, which is chargeable, has been paid. Sub-section (3) of Section 32 of the Act raises a legal fiction. However, the said legal fi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uance of a certificate by way of an endorsement in either of the cases would arise when the additional stamp duty, if any, is paid. If the applicant intends to challenge the said order before the revisional authority, evidently it would not deposit the amount. However, only because the determination by the Collector has been accepted pursuant whereto a certificate has been issued, by itself cannot be held to be binding upon the State. The Act deals with a fiscal matter. It was indisputably enacted keeping in mind the revenue of the State, The amendment has been carried out to see that no evasion in regard to collection of actual stamp duty payable on instruments takes place. The Act provides for determination of such amount at different stages. If an application under Section 31 of the Act is not filed, it would be for the Registrar to do so at the time when the document is presented for registration in which event the matter would be referred to the Collector. We have noticed hereinbefore that Section 32 does not provide for a finality clause. In absence of any finality clause, it is difficult to comprehend that the right of the parties to approach the revisional authorit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 7]: If you are bidden to treat an imaginary state of affairs as real, you must surely, unless prohibited from doing so, also imagine as real the consequences and incidents which, if the putative state of affairs had in fact existed, must inevitably have flowed from or accompanied it. One of these in this case is emancipation from the 1939 level of rents. The statute says that you must imagine a certain state of affairs; it does not say that having done so, you must cause or permit your imagination to boggle when it comes to the inevitable corollaries of that state of affairs. It must, however, be noticed that therein the court has also noticed a decision of this Court in Consolidated Coffee Ltd. v. Coffee Board [(1995) 1 SCC 312] wherein it has been held that mere use of the word deemed is itself not sufficient to set up a legal fiction. Furthermore, it is not the law that the court, irrespective of the nature, purport and object of the statute, shall assign a meaning which was not intended to be given by the Legislature. Legal fiction created in terms of Sub-section (3) of Section 32 of the Act was only in regard to the receivability of instrument in evidence. The leg ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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