Corporate name change without property transfer does not attract stamp duty or fresh mutation permission.

A mere change of a company's name, approved by the Registrar of Companies and supported by a fresh certificate of incorporation, does not amount to a transfer of property where no sale, purchase, or other conveyance between distinct entities is shown. On that basis, the court held that such a name change does not attract stamp duty and does not require fresh permission under Section 118 for mutation of revenue records. The changed corporate name may therefore be recorded in the revenue papers without insisting on stamp duty, because the transaction is only a change in nomenclature and not a taxable or registrable transfer of assets.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner, after conversion of its company name from a public limited company to a private limited company, was liable to pay stamp duty and required fresh permission under Section 118 for mutation of the revenue record.

Analysis: The instructions issued by the Revenue Department provided that where only the name of a company is changed with approval of the Registrar of Companies and no transaction or sale of property takes place, no stamp duty is chargeable. The Court found that the petitioner's change of name was effected through a fresh certificate of incorporation, with no material showing any sale, purchase, or transfer of property between distinct entities. The earlier Division Bench view and allied decisions were relied upon to hold that a mere change in corporate name does not by itself amount to a transfer of assets or ownership, and therefore cannot be treated as a transaction attracting stamp duty or a fresh permission requirement under the land reform law.

Conclusion: The demand for stamp duty was unsustainable, and the petitioner was entitled to have the changed name recorded in the revenue papers without insisting on payment of stamp duty.

Ratio Decidendi: A mere change in the name of a company, sanctioned by the Registrar of Companies and unaccompanied by any transfer of property, does not constitute a taxable or registrable transfer so as to attract stamp duty or fresh statutory permission for mutation of revenue records.

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