India, Sept. 2 -- The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) ruled that a real estate developer cannot shift the burden of stamp duty and registration charges to a homebuyer after initially promising to bear those costs at the time of booking. Stating this, the authority directed the developer of a plotted development project near Mumbai to pay interest to a plot buyer for alleged delayed possession, even though the agreement for sale remained unregistered.

The case relates to a buyer who booked a plot in a plotted development project and paid nearly the entire consideration amount of over Rs.1.50 crore to the developer. The buyer had paid the amount, which included the sale consideration, maintenance security deposit an...