Firoz.T.Totanawala
The Bangalore Metro Reporter
Janapriya Hanuma Reddy Complex
Crores of Stamp duty cheated by Sub Registrar Shantha Murthy
Strange are the ways the land developers cheat the public exchequer in collusion with the Sub Registrars while registering the sale deeds. We have come across a case where the developer, Engineers Syndicate has cheated the government crores of rupees of stamp duty while registering their commercial apartments in White Field Main Road. The Sub Registrar Shantha Murthy had assessed the market value of the apartment only on the undivided share of the land and not the cost of the fully built commercial complexes. Shantha Murthy who was the Sub Registrar in Mahadevapura Sub Registry office has since moved to Banasawadi office.
The government has fixed guidelines value to assess the market value of the properties for the sale of collection of stamp duty. It had fixed the market value for apartments dispensing with the age old custom of levying market value for the undivided share in the land and cost of the building. Now, the value is fixed on square foot basis on the superbuilt up area. Under this system, there is no valuation separately for undivided share of the land and the super built up area.
But the willing Sub Registrars have shown scant respect to this stipulation and colluded with unscrupulous developers to cheat stamp duty to the tune of crores. The Bangalore Metro Reporter has come across a startling case of a leading developer registering more than 50 commercial flats paying stamp duty on the undivided share of the land.
The case in the point in Engineers Syndicate which had built a huge commercial complex on a plot of 2 acres 30 guntas land in Hoodi - Whitefield Main Road. It had sold more than 50 big commercial shops ranging from 2000 sqft. to 8000 square feet. As per the market value, these flats cost between 80 lakhs to three crores.
But the Sub Registrar of Mahadevapura Sub Registry office Shantha Murthy has registering these sale deeds without caring for even the market valuation fixed by the government let alone real market value. Infact, even though the area had come under BBMP in January 2007 itself, the Sub Registrar had applied the valuation applicable to the CMC areas in April 2007. Moreover, the value of the commercial properties will be fixed at 25% more than the market valuation.
The Sub Registrar Shantha Murthy has also manipulated the registration records in respect of payment of stamp duty and the certificate of payment of stamp duty. The scam had come to the notice of the then Revenue Secretary Narayana Swamy who took his own protection money to allow Shantha Murthy go slot free. The state has cost not less than two crores stamp duty because of the collusion between the developer and the Sub Registrar. Curiously, in some documents, the developer has not shown the sale consideration itself.
Fearing action, Shantha Murthy took a transfer to Banasawadi office. But still the law of the land had to follow him. Shantha Murthy, a highly powerful and resourceful Sub Registrar had even tried to browbeat the Lokayukta. It is time, the government take a look at this scam.
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