Gammon India moves HC on 'recovery' of registration fee

Mumbai-based civil engineering firm Gammon India has moved the Madras High Court, seeking to quash an order of District Registrar (Administration) here directing them to pay Rs nearly 20 crore towards recovery of alleged deficit registration fee for a project to be executed by it.
The October 23, 2014 order of the district registrar claimed the company had paid only Rs 440 as registration fees.
The Registration department issued two orders, directing them to pay of Rs 9,32,87,900 each for two registrations it made towards recovery of alleged deficit registration fees in respect of the Joint Venture agreement into between them and OJSC Moscow Metrostory to execute a contract to be awarded by Chennai Metro Rail Limited for design and construction of underground stations at three locations in Chennai.

When the petition came up before Justice V Ramasubramaniam, he refused to stay the order of recovery and issued a notice to Special Government Pleader Sanjay Gandhi to get instructions.
Gammon India Limited submitted they had entered into an agreement with the Russian firm to execute the CMRL work under JV and the agreement was registered under Section 78 of the Registration Act, 1908, which provides a registration fee of Rs 100.
The company submitted they had mentioned in the agreement that the consideration would be Rs 10,000 and Rs 220 as registration fees. The agreement was duly registered by the Registration department on March 17 2011.

Gammon alleged that after a lapse of three years, a show cause notice was issued on March 3, 2014 to them by the registration authorities after ascertaining from CMRL records that the value of each contract is Rs 932,88,00,000 and asking them why an alleged deficit registration fee of Rs 9,32,87,900 should not be levied on the agreement.
Gammon then moved the High Court.