The Revenue Department has issued an order to Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Digvijay Patil and Parth Pawar are partners, to pay ₹21 crore stamp duty at the earliest. The department also directed the firm to pay an additional ₹1.47 crore penalty calculated at 1% per month for seven months. They have been given two months to deposit the amount. The department said that if the company fails to comply, its accounts could be frozen.
District Stamp Duty Collector Santosh Hingane, speaking to The Free Press Journal, said the company’s submitted Letter of Intent (LOI) cannot be accepted as valid, and therefore Amadea must pay stamp duty at seven per cent, amounting to ₹21 crore. A notice regarding this order was issued on Thursday.
Earlier, the company had fraudulently paid only ₹500 as stamp duty. Now, the company has to pay ₹20,99,99,500 along with penalties, bringing the total payable amount to approximately ₹22.46 crore.
What was the case?
Amadea had purchased land belonging to the Botanical Survey of India in Mundhwa from the power of attorney holder, Shital Tejwani. The document for this transaction was registered in May. While registering the deed, the company submitted a Letter of Intent claiming that the land would be used for establishing an IT industry. Based on this LOI, the company availed a stamp duty exemption.
After the alleged irregularities came to light, Hingane issued a notice in November directing the company to pay ₹21 crore in stamp duty. Amadea was given two extensions to submit its explanation.
However, last week, Digvijay Patil’s lawyers submitted a 20-page written response to the District Stamp Office. The company argued that it was entitled to a stamp duty exemption under the IT policy and therefore the notice should be cancelled as invalid. However, the District Stamp Collector rejected this argument.
What did the issued order claim?
The notice states that since Amadea paid only ₹500 in stamp duty during registration, it must now pay the full amount of ₹20,99,99,500. Additionally, a penalty of one per cent per month for seven months, amounting to an additional ₹1.47 crore, has been imposed. Thus, the total payable amount comes to ₹22,46,99,500.
Hingane said the company has been given two months to either pay the full amount or file an appeal. If the company fails to comply, authorities will begin proceedings to freeze the company’s bank accounts and may initiate property attachment, as permitted under the law for non-payment of stamp duty.
