The Revenue Department will conduct a hearing on December 4 on a plea by the firm linked to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth Pawar regarding the Rs 21 crore stamp duty recovery notice issued to it in a land deal case, officials said on Tuesday.
Lawyers representing Amadea Enterprises LLP had also sought a 15-day extension to respond to the stamp duty notice issued by the department.
"They have now demanded a hearing on the stamp duty notice issued earlier, which will be held on December 4," an official from the Inspector General of Registration's (IGR) Office said.
State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who was in Pune, said IGR officials are following all the rules and ensuring that the spirit of natural justice is followed.
"Following the same spirit of natural justice, the firm needs to serve two to three notices, and our officials from the IGR are following the norms. There should not be any allegations in the future (from the firm) that they were not heard properly. I have been told that they have been given a December 4 date for the next hearing," Bawankule told reporters.
Lawyers representing the firm in which Parth Pawar is a majority partner approached the IGR office on Monday, the last day of the expiry of the notice.
An official said that the application had been accepted, and the decision to grant an extension would be taken by senior officials.
The Rs 300-crore deal to sell a 40-acre land parcel in the prime Mundhwa area to the firm came under scrutiny after it was revealed that the land belongs to the government and that the firm was exempted from paying the stamp duty.
Following the controversy, an offence was registered against Digvijay Patil, a partner in the firm, and others, including a government official. Parth Pawar was not named in the FIR.
An inquiry by the IGR office had indicted Patil, Shital Tejwani, who held the power of attorney, and sub-registrar Ravindra Taru, who facilitated the sale deed of the land for irregularities.
Amid a political firestorm, Ajit Pawar announced that the deal would be scrapped.