Stamp duty on standing natural sagwaan trees in buffer zone near Satpura tiger reserve and denwa river. Is there any stamp duty to be paid for such trees

[Manpreet Kaur]

If you purchase the land of buffer zone. Stamp duty is paid on agriculture land but there are trees natural grown like sagwaan, saj etc. We are not permitted to cut or fell any tree in that region. Do we have to pay stamp duty on such trees separately when we do not have any economic benefit. Land purchased in 2020

[YAGAY and SUN]

In law, stamp duty is chargeable on the instrument of conveyance and not on the notional or speculative value of assets from which the purchaser derives no transferable or economic benefit. Where land situated in a buffer zone is classified and conveyed as agricultural land, and the purchaser is statutorily prohibited from cutting, felling or commercially exploiting naturally grown trees such as sagwan, saj, etc., such trees do not constitute a separable or independently transferable property interest. In the absence of any right of enjoyment, usufruct or commercial exploitation, the trees form an inseparable part of the land and cannot be treated as a distinct subject matter of conveyance for the purpose of levy of stamp duty. Stamp duty can be levied on trees separately only where the instrument of sale specifically transfers ownership or cutting rights in respect of such trees, or where the purchaser acquires an enforceable economic benefit therein. Merely because trees exist on the land does not justify an additional levy, particularly when statutory restrictions negate any economic value to the purchaser. Therefore, in respect of land purchased in 2020, where stamp duty has already been paid treating the property as agricultural land and no independent rights over the trees were conveyed or capable of being exercised, no separate stamp duty on the trees is legally payable.

AI Summary

Stamp duty on trees in buffer zone not payable where trees are inseparable from land and no transferable rights exist.
Stamp duty is chargeable on the conveyance instrument of agricultural land and not on naturally grown standing trees in a buffer zone where statutory prohibitions against cutting, felling or commercial exploitation mean the trees are inseparable from the land and confer no distinct right of enjoyment, usufruct or economic benefit; a separate levy arises only if the sale instrument expressly transfers ownership or cutting/harvesting rights or otherwise grants enforceable economic rights in respect of the trees.