Sale certificate duty not leviable where title passes by operation of law after auction sale confirmation.

A sale certificate issued by a civil court under Order XXI Rule 94 CPC is not an instrument of sale for duty purposes under Section 147 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. The Court reasoned that "instrument" refers to a document that itself creates or transfers rights, whereas title in an auction sale passes by operation of law only when the sale becomes absolute on confirmation under Order XXI Rule 92 CPC. The certificate merely records the property sold, the purchaser, and the date of finality, so it is evidentiary and declaratory rather than a conveyance. No duty is therefore chargeable on the certificate.

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Issues: Whether a sale certificate issued by a civil court under Order XXI Rule 94 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 is an instrument of sale attracting duty under Section 147 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957.

Analysis: The duty under Section 147 is leviable on every instrument of sale of immovable property. The expression "instrument" bears the meaning given in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, and refers to a document by which rights are created or transferred. A sale certificate does not itself transfer title; the title passes by operation of law when the auction sale becomes absolute upon confirmation under Order XXI Rule 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The certificate issued under Order XXI Rule 94 merely records the property sold, the purchaser, and the date on which the sale became absolute. It is thus evidentiary and declaratory, not a conveyance or instrument effecting transfer.

Conclusion: A sale certificate under Order XXI Rule 94 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 is not an instrument of sale and no duty under Section 147 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 is chargeable on it.

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