Stamp Duty

• Stamp duty is payable under Section 3 of The Bombay Stamp Act, 1958.
• Stamp duty is payable on market value or agreement value, whichever is higher.
• Market value of any property is determined by the stamp duty authorities on the basis of the Stamp Duty Ready Reckoner issued by the government on January 1 every year.
• Stamp duty for residential property is Rs. 7600/- plus 5% of the value above Rs. 5,00,000/- for the time being in force.
• Stamp duty for non-residential property is a flat 5%.
• Stamp duty is charged for every Rs. 500/- or part thereof of the value.
• Stamp duty must be paid at the time of execution of the agreement. Penalty for late payment of the stamp duty is 2% per month on the deficit stamp duty amount, subject to a maximum of two times the deficit stamp duty amount.
• A stamp duty paid document is considered a proper and legal document and as such gets evidentiary value and is admitted as evidence in the court of law. The documents that are insufficiently stamped are not admitted as evidence by the court.

Registration Fees

• Once the stamp duty is paid on the document, it has to be registered with the Sub Registrar of Assurances of the respective district. The document is to be registered according to the provisions of The Registration Act, 1908.
• The document should be registered within 4 months from the date of execution.
• All parties executing the document admit before the Sub Registrar of Assurances that they have executed the document presented for registration. Parties are then identified by two independent witnesses.
• Parties to the document are photographed, and their left-hand thumb impression is taken. Such photograph and thumb impression are affixed on additional pages attached to the document, apart from color photographs and thumb impression, which a person affixes in agreement value while executing a document.
• The Sub Registrar of Assurances records the content of the document, including the additional pages, either by photocopying or scanning the content of the documents.
• If a particular document is required to be compulsorily registered under the law and is not registered, then the proper legal title will not pass on the purchaser, i.e., the title will be defective and the document becomes inadmissible in the court of law.
• Registration fees are 1% of the market value or agreement value, whichever is higher, subject to a maximum of Rs. 30,000/-.
• The property Agreement executed before obtaining O.C. is subject to service tax at 2.575%.
• There is also VAT (Sales Tax) applicable at 1% of the agreement.