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NTPC Limited vs. Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited

Enforcement Petition (Commercial Arbitration) · 2026:DHC:8988Decided 9 Oct 2026New Delhi Bench
OMP (ENF.) (COMM.) 163/2023CNR: DLHC010326532023
Justice Om Prakash Shukla

Background

NTPC Limited, as decree-holder, was seeking to enforce an arbitral award against a Thai company, Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, as judgment debtor. At the hearing, NTPC's counsel decided not to press the enforcement petition further in its current form, in light of a stamp-duty compliance issue flagged by a recent ruling of the same Court in a similar matter.

Decision Breakdown

NTPC sought leave to withdraw the enforcement petition, with liberty to file it again once the stamp duty aspect under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 was properly satisfied, relying on the Court's own recent decision in M/s URC Construction (P) Ltd. v. Airports Authority of India. The Court granted this leave and liberty, and dismissed the petition as withdrawn, with any pending applications also disposed of.

Lesson Learnt

Before executing an arbitral award in India, parties must ensure the award is properly stamped under the Indian Stamp Act: courts will not proceed with enforcement if this compliance step is in doubt, and the usual course is to withdraw and re-file once it is fixed, rather than litigate enforcement on a technically defective instrument.

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