CHIEF CONTROLLING REVENUE AUTHORITY Vs. MANOHAR LAL DUDEJA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS reference has been made by the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority under Section 57 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, in respect of a document, as it felt a doubt as to whether the stamp duty on the document was chargeable as on a settlement or as on a trust. The following question has been framed by the authority on which our opinion has been sought:

(2.) IN the present case, one Shri Manohar Lal Dudeja executed a document on April 18, 1972, purporting to create a trust for religious and charitable purposes and transferred a building valued at Rs. 7 lakhs for running a hospital. A duty of Rs. 1,605 under article 64 of Schedule 1B to the Stamp Act was paid. An objection was taken by an audit party of the office of the Accountant-General, U. P., that the instrument was a "settlement" as defined in Section 2(24) of the Stamp Act and a duty under article 58, Schedule 1B, was payable on it. The Additional Collector, Kanpur, having some doubt, referred the matter to the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority who, after a local inspection, found that the trust was created for educational, religious and charitable purposes. This included a charitable eye hospital duly equipped and was being run with a yogashram under a qualified doctor. The Chief Controlling Revenue Authority came to the conclusion that the instrument was an instrument of "trust" and not a "settlement" and he held that the document was properly stamped, vide order dated April 18, 1980.

(3.) LEARNED standing counsel contended that it is not necessary to find whether there was a declaration of trust or not. It was enough if it showed that it was a "settlement" in writing of immovable property made for any religious or charitable purpose. Mr. D.B. Bahadur, on the other hand, contended that if it was a deed which purported to be a trust deed, then it would not be a "settlement" but would come within the term "trust" and the stamp duty payable would be under article 64 of Schedule 1B to the Stamp Act as applicable to Uttar Pradesh. That provision reads as under : <FRM>JUDGEMENT_186_ITR189_1991Html1.htm</FRM>