Facts of the Case: The petitioner entered into a lease deed in respect of property. Clause 6 of the lease deed clearly stipulated that the property would be used solely for residential purposes. When the lease deed was presented for registration, it was impounded under Section 33 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, on the ground that stamp duty was deficient, allegedly due to the inclusion of GST in the computation of lease rent.

The Petitioner contended that Entry No. 12 of Notification No. 12/2017–Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017, which exempts services by way of renting of residential dwelling for use as residence from GST. Therefore, the lease in question being purely residential, no GST was applicable. Further, even if GST were applicable, its value cannot be included in the computation of lease rent for stamp duty purposes. Reliance was placed on Circular No. 3759/01/2015-2 dated 24.05.2019, issued by the Inspector General of Registration, Chennai, which clarified that GST is not a recurring charge on property and hence cannot be treated as part of rent under Article 35 of Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. Reference was also made to Circular No. 44/18/2018–CGST dated 02.05.2018 issued by the Tax Research Unit, Ministry of Finance, reiterating that renting of residential dwelling for use as residence is exempt from GST.

Issue: Whether the GST component can be included in the computation of lease rent for determining the stamp duty payable on a lease deed of a residential property used solely for residential purposes?

Held that: The Delhi High Court allowed the writ petition, holding that

• Entry No. 12 of Notification No. 12/2017–Central Tax (Rate) unambiguously exempts renting of residential dwelling for use as residence from GST.
• Consequently, there was no basis for inclusion of GST in determining the lease rent for stamp duty computation.
• The impugned order dated 19.10.2020 of the Collector of Stamps was therefore misconceived and unsustainable in law.

The Court held as “Entry No. 12 of the Central Tax Notification No. 12/2017 leaves no manner of doubt that renting/leasing of a residential dwelling for use as residence is exempt from GST. As such, the view adopted by the respondent as regards deficit payment of stamp duty is misconceived.” The Court quashed the impugned order and directed the respondent to refund ₹2,58,700 (deficit duty and penalty) deposited by the petitioner, within six weeks.

Case Name: Mr. Gurdev Raj Kumar Versus Collector of Stamps (Government of NCT of Delhi). dated 28.10.2025

To read the complete judgement 2025 Taxo.online 2742