MahaRERA Shuts the Door on 'Zero Stamp Duty' Bait-and-Switch

In an order reported 3 September 2026, MahaRERA held that a developer who promised at the booking stage to bear stamp duty and registration charges cannot later shift that liability onto the buyer. The case concerned a plot in Raigad booked for ₹1.66 crore, with an allotment letter dated 11 March 2025 promising possession by 31 December 2025. The parties had executed a notarised but unregistered agreement for sale, and the developer's draft Sale Deed later sought to make the buyer responsible for stamp duty and registration charges, despite the allotment letter's earlier commitment. The developer argued this was a typographical error. MahaRERA rejected that position, holding that promises recorded in allotment documents and regulatory disclosures can be enforced even where a later document is silent. The Authority also invoked Section 13(1) of RERA, which bars a promoter from accepting more than 10% of an apartment's cost without first executing a registered Agreement for Sale, noting the developer had collected almost the full consideration despite the agreement remaining unregistered. For homebuyers across the MMR, the practical lesson is straightforward: preserve every document from the booking stage — the booking form, allotment letter, any promotional literature, and payment receipts — since these can be decisive if a developer later attempts to rewrite the terms through the final Agreement for Sale. This report is compiled from multiple independent news accounts of the order, consistent with one another on the facts and outcome; the specific complaint number will follow once retrieved from the MahaRERA portal.

महारेराने ३ सप्टेंबर २०२६ रोजी दिलेल्या आदेशात स्पष्ट केले की, बुकिंगच्या वेळी मुद्रांक शुल्क भरण्याचे आश्वासन देणारा विकासक नंतर करार पत्रात हा उल्लेख वगळून जबाबदारी टाळू शकत नाही. रायगड जिल्ह्यातील १.६६ कोटी रुपयांच्या भूखंड व्यवहारात हे प्रकरण घडले. रेरा कायद्याच्या कलम १३(१) नुसार नोंदणीकृत विक्री करारापूर्वी सदनिकेच्या किमतीच्या १०% पेक्षा जास्त रक्कम स्वीकारता येत नाही, याकडेही प्राधिकरणाने लक्ष वेधले. ग्राहकांनी बुकिंगपासूनची सर्व कागदपत्रे जपून ठेवावीत, कारण अंतिम करारात विकासकाने अटी बदलल्यास हीच कागदपत्रे निर्णायक ठरतात. हे वृत्त अनेक स्वतंत्र प्रसारमाध्यमांच्या अहवालांवर आधारित आहे; विशिष्ट तक्रार क्रमांक प्राप्त होताच तो पुढील अंकात प्रसिद्ध केला जाईल.