NEW DELHI: The stamps and registrations department of Maharashtra has directed real estate firm Lodha Group to pay Rs 473 crore in penalty and dues in the case of wilful avoidance of stamp duty in a Rs 5,700-crore land deal in Wadala, central Mumbai , according to a report in The Indian Express.However, Lodha Group claims to have got a stay on the order from the Bombay High Court on Thursday. The HC has also asked the company to file an appeal against the order before the competent authority along with deposit of the principal amount in 60 days, which comes to around Rs 202 crore."We are pleased that our stand has been vindicated and will now approach the competent authority to explain the Supreme Court order in ICICI v. State of Maharashtra and convince them that the principal amount of stamp duty is payable at time of execution of lease deed, not agreement to lease," said a compay release.The case relates to a 9.96 lakh sqft plot that Lodha Crown Buildmart bought from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) through a bidding process in August 1, 2011. The company is developing a premium residential and commercial township called New Cuffe Parade on the plot under question, which will have nearly 4,000 residential and commercial units. Of this, about 1,200 apartments have been built.On August 1, 2011, MMRDA and Lodha Crown Buildmart entered into an 'agreement to lease', on which stamp duty is not chargeable. However, the collector of stamps said in its order that in substance, the 2011 document was a development agreement, where interests had already been created in favour of the firm. It pointed out that the firm had already sold 1,000 apartments in the project, and raised loans on it, according to the report.