Bombay High Court pulls up state over toll agent’s failure to pay stamp duty

The Bombay high court recently directed the revenue ministry of the state to file reply to a writ petition alleging that a toll-collecting agent of seven municipal corporations in Maharashtra has not paid stamp duty of crores of rupees since 2005.

When the petition came up for hearing before the division bench of Justice N.H. Patil and Justice A.M. Badar on May 5, the public prosecutor J.P. Yagnik informed the bench that the revenue authorities had called for reports from these seven municipal corporations in the state pertaining to payment of registration charges and stamp duty payable on the agreement made by them with M/s Konark Infrastructure, which was asked to collect toll/Octroi from vehicles at toll nakas.

The bench on May 5, asked the revenue department to file its response within six weeks. The court was hearing a petition filed by Jeet Pratap Satyanarayan Singh, a 67-year-old social activist, through lawyer Laxman Kanal.

The petition has alleged that Konark Infrastructure was the toll-collecting agent of municipal corporations in Bhiwandi, Nashik, Kalyan-Dombivali, Ulhasnagar, Mira-Bhayander and Akola and it had not paid the stamp duty.