The Uttar Pradesh government has intensified efforts to recover over Rs 650 crore in pending stamp duty dues from toll collection companies operating on state and national highways. The move follows a major revelation in the Bhadohi case, where a Delhi-based company secured a toll collection contract by paying a mere Rs 100 in stamp duty, bypassing the actual liability of Rs 63 crore.
Reacting to this serious lapse, the state’s Stamp and Registration Department conducted an extensive audit to assess the scope of stamp duty evasion in toll collection agreements across the state. The findings uncovered 95 such cases, prompting urgent directions to district administrations in 31 districts to expedite recovery proceedings.
Stamp Duty Violations Widespread Across Highway Operators
The audit revealed that a majority of the 95 cases involve private toll operators contracted by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), with several others linked to firms appointed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) for toll collection on state expressways. In many instances, these companies either underreported the applicable stamp duty or executed agreements on inadequately stamped documents to evade full payment of dues.
Interestingly, 15 out of 95 toll operators had executed contracts on stamp paper worth only Rs 100, leading to estimated stamp duty dues of Rs 130.40 crore from these agreements alone.
Out of the total 95 cases related to stamp duty recovery from toll collection agencies, 23 are currently sub-judice and awaiting court decisions. The remaining 72 cases are pending with district collectors across various parts of the state. Among these, 17 private toll collection firms are already undergoing active recovery proceedings. While some of these cases are over five years old, the enforcement process gained momentum from October last year after the state government issued clear instructions to district collectors to speed up the recovery efforts.
A major turning point occurred in July 2023 when the Supreme Court, in a related case from Madhya Pradesh, ruled that concession agreements between toll operators and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should be treated as lease deeds. This judgment made the companies liable to pay full stamp duty based on the value of the agreement, strengthening the legal position of the state in recovering dues.
Several high-value defaulters have been identified in the ongoing recovery drive. The company operating the Meerut Expressway has emerged as the largest defaulter, with outstanding dues amounting to Rs 26 crore. The toll collection firm operating on the Lucknow-RaeBareli route is also under scrutiny, with dues of Rs 10 crore yet to be paid. These cases are among the most significant in terms of financial impact and have drawn focused attention from the authorities.
Uttar Pradesh’s Stamp and Registration Minister Ravindra Jaiswal highlighted the importance of this recovery initiative, stating that the funds collected from toll operators will be channeled into upgrading public infrastructure and supporting various welfare schemes across the state. He emphasized that evasion of stamp duty is a serious loss to public revenue and assured that the government is committed to holding defaulting companies accountable. Officials have been instructed to actively pursue long-pending cases, both in court and at the district level, to ensure that the recovery process is effective and just.
