The petitioner, an auction purchaser, acquired property of a corporate debtor (M/s. Gonglu Agro Pvt. Ltd.) through an e-auction conducted by a liquidator under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). A sale certificate was issued to the petitioner. Respondent No.1, the Joint District Registrar, subsequently ordered the petitioner to pay stamp duty on this sale certificate, citing Article 16 of Schedule I of the Stamp Act. The petitioner challenged this order, arguing that under Section 89(4) and Section 17(2)(xii) of the Registration Act, and in light of Supreme Court precedents, such a sale certificate is not compulsorily registrable and does not attract stamp duty, requiring only filing in Book No.1.

The petitioner, an auction purchaser, acquired property of a corporate debtor (M/s. Gonglu Agro Pvt. Ltd.) through an e-auction conducted by a liquidator under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). A sale certificate was issued to the petitioner. Respondent No.1, the Joint District Registrar, subsequently ordered the petitioner to pay stamp duty on this sale certificate, citing Article 16 of Schedule I of the Stamp Act. The petitioner challenged this order, arguing that under Section 89(4) and Section 17(2)(xii) of the Registration Act, and in light of Supreme Court precedents, such a sale certificate is not compulsorily registrable and does not attract stamp duty, requiring only filing in Book No.1.