Plans of the US Embassy to sell off a two-acre plot located on Tilak Marg in the posh Lutyen’s Bungalow Zone of Delhi have been dashed by the government.
The US Embassy had hit an agreement with a private builder for the sale of the two-acre plot for Rs 46 crore as many as six years back. Reports suggest that the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) did not Embassy provide the mandatory clearance for the sale of the plot.
The government, in point of fact, the refused to grant permission for the deal because it feels that the deal is not in proportion to the commercial value of the property.
The MEA hasn’t given any reason for refusing to grant permission, but it is undoubtedly linked to a clash with the US government over imposition of property tax to the tune of US$ 7 million a year on some residential premises of Indian diplomats close to the United Nations building in New York.
However, the US government finally decided against the imposing the tax on Indian residential premises in New York, putting an end to the dispute.
The US government argued in a New York court that in case foreign properties in the US were taxed, then they also would have to pay millions of dollars in taxes for its own diplomatic buildings in several countries. Eventually, a three-judge bench exempted Indian diplomatic staff residences from US$ 7 million a year in property taxes.
Here in India, the value of the property at Tilak Marg soared countless times during the last six years, encouraging the MEA to argue that deal price of Rs 46 crore was not proportionate to the current market rate of the plot.
The US Embassy is still in talks with the MEA resolve the issue.
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