Mumbai: The MREAT in recent judgment set aside a MahaRERA order of 2020, which denied relief to a buyer, for non-delivery of a flat by a developer, by stating that there was no registered agreement for sale.The tribunal directed the promoter to refund the amount paid by the Andheri-based allottee along with interest.Allottee Stanley Saldanha, who was represented by advocate Anil D’ Souza, had booked a flat in Aug 2013 in an IndiaBulls project at Panvel and had paid a sum of over Rs 26 lakh. Due to the slow pace of the construction and delay in handover of possession of the flat, the allottee sought to withdraw from the project in 2019. However, the developer sought to deduct cancellation charges and forfeit a part of the paid amount, when the allottee demanded an exit.The MREAT said that the MahaRERA order by chairman Gautam Chatterjee, had erred in holding that provisions of Section 18 of the Act will not apply in the absence of a registered agreement for sale. In this case, a detailed booking application form existed, which is running into around 26 pages long and the contents of the booking application reflect the agreed positions of the parties, which are akin to an agreement for sale.MREAT pointed out that the agreement need not be in writing and any other document containing requisite contents of the agreement will suffice.Besides, intentions of parties matter more and not the nomenclature of transaction instruments, it said. The Tribunal had earlier held that even the MOU may be considered as a valid instrument for the purpose of provisions of section 18 of the Act.According to MREAT, linking possession delivery dates with occupation dates in this case is legally not sustainable. The MREAT stated that the promoter had violated the provision of Section 11 (3) of the Act by not writing and intimating a specific possession date and also the stage wise project construction at the time of booking.The MREAT also pointed out that there is no express provision in the Act, which shows that a promoter is entitled to forfeit earnest amounts or any other amount of certain quantum in the event of cancellation of booking on the part of either party.