In a move that would substantially increase the cost of document registration in the state, the Karnataka government on December 11, 2023, passed a bill to hike stamp duties on various instruments of property transfer. After being tabled in the State Assembly on December 7, the Karnataka Stamp (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to hike stamp duty in the state was passed on December 11.
The change will help the state government generate Rs 25,000 crore in stamp duty and registration fee collection.
With the latest hike, stamp duty for most instruments will double while it will rise five-fold for some other instruments. The revision in stamp duty would bring Karnataka among the states with one of the highest stamp duties.
According to state government officials, the increase in stamp duty will help the government reduce under-stamping and duty evasion. Karnataka currently ranks 4th in terms of revenue generated from stamp duty and registration fee. Non-registrable documents contribute only 11.3% to the total stamp duty revenue, say officials.
Notably, no changes have been made on the stamp duty on property purchase in Karnataka.
Stamp duty in Karnataka after December 11 revision
Adoption deed: Now, stamp duty on adoption deeds will go up from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.
Affidavits: Stamp duty on affidavits will rise from Rs 20 and up to Rs 100.
Powers of attorney: Stamp duty on powers of attorney hiked from Rs 100 to Rs 500. When more than five but not more than 10 people are authorised by the PoA, stamp duty will be Rs 1,000 in place of the earlier Rs 200.
Divorce papers: Stamp duty on divorce papers will go up from Rs 100 to Rs 500.
Certified copies: For certified copies, stamp duty will increase from Rs 5 to Rs 20.
Trusts: Stamp duty on registering trusts will be increased to Rs 2,000 from the existing Rs 1,000.
Conveyance deed of amalgamation of companies: For conveyance deeds involving amalgamation of companies, stamp duty has been hiked to 5% from 3%.
Property partitions converted for non-agricultural purposes: Stamp duty for property partitions converted for non-agricultural purposes will increase from Rs 1,000 per share to Rs 5,000 per share in urban areas.
Stamp duty for property partitions converted for non-agricultural purposes will increase from Rs 500 per share to Rs 3,000 per share in gram panchayats.
Stamp duty for agriculture property partition will increase from Rs 250 per share to Rs 1,000 per share in gram panchayats.
Stamp duty in Karnataka before the December 11, 2023 revision
| Document | Stamp duty | Registration fee |
| Adoption Deed | Rs 500 | Rs 200 |
| Affidavit | Rs 20 | — |
| Agreement relating to sale of immovable property | ||
| (i) with possession | 5% on the Market Value | 1% |
| (ii) without possession | 0.1% on Market value equal to the amount of consideration Min.500, Max.20,000 |
Rs.20 |
| (iii) Joint Development Agreement | 1% Max Rs 15 lakh | 1% Max Rs 1,50,000 |
| Agreement relating to Deposit of Title Deeds (D.T.D) | 0.1% Min Rs 500, Max Rs 50,000 |
0.1% Min Rs 100 Max Rs 10,000 |
| Cancellation of Instruments
a) Cancellation of any instrument previously executed on which stamp duty has been paid as per any article of the schedule |
Same duty as on the original instrument Provided that if the original instrument is a conveyance on sale, then the stamp duty is as per article 20(1) | Rs.100 or 1% on Market value if it is cancellation of conveyance |
| b) In favour of Govt. or Local Authorities | Rs 100 | Rs 100 |
| c) In any other case | Rs 100 | Rs 100 |
| Conveyance (including flats/apartments) | 5% on the market value+ Surcharge + additional duty | 1% |
| Conveyance by BDA / KHB | 5% on Consideration shown in the document + Surcharge + Additional duty | 1% |
| Conveyance on Transferable Development Rights (TDR) | 1% on Market value or consideration whichever is higher + Surcharge + Additional duty | 1% |
| Exchange | 5% on the market value on the higher value of the two + Surcharge + Additional duty | 1% |
| Gift | ||
| (i) If Donee is not a family member of donor | 5 % on the market value+ Surcharge + Additional duty | 1% |
| (ii) If Donee is a specified family member of donor | Rs 1,000 + surcharge & Additional duty | Rs 500 fixed |
| Lease of immoveable property / License | ||
| (i) Up to 1 year residential | 0.5% on the average annual rent (AAR) + Advance + Premium + Fine. Max.500 |
100 |
| (ii) Up to 1 year commercial and industrial | 0.5% on the average annual rent (AAR) + Advance + Premium + Fine. | Rs 5 for every Rs 1,000 or part thereof Min Rs 100 |
| (iii) > 1yr < 10 years | 1% on AAR + Advance + Premium + Fine | Rs 5 for every Rs 1,000 or part thereof |
| (iv) > 10yrs < 20 years | 2% on AAR + Advance + Premium + Fine | Rs 5 for every Rs 1,000 or part thereof |
| (v) > 20yrs < 30 years | 3% on AAR + Advance + Premium + Fine | Rs 5 for every Rs 1,000 or part thereof |
| Lease Only | ||
| (vi) > 30 yrs or perpetuity or not for definite term | As per Art 20(1) on Market value or AAR+ advance + premium + deposit + fine whichever is higher | 1% |
| Lease of immoveable property between Family members | Rs 1,000 | Rs 500 |
| Mortgage | ||
| (i) If possession of property is given | 5 % on the amount + surcharge | 1% |
| (ii) If possession of property is not given | 0.5% + Surcharge | 0.5% Maximum of Rs 10,000/- |
| Partition | ||
| (a) (i) For Non Agriculture (converted) Property situated in Municipal Corp. Or Urban Dev. Authorities or Municipal Councils or Town Panchayats area |
Rs 1,000 per share | Rs 500 per share |
| ii) Other than the above | Rs 500 per share | Rs 250 per share |
| (b) Agri Land | Rs 250 per share | Rs 50 per share |
| (c) Movable property | Rs 250 per share | Rs 100 per share |
| (d)Combination of above | Maximum of above per share | Maximum of above per share |
| Power of attorney | ||
| For Regn. Of admission of execution of one or more documents | Rs 100 | Rs 100 |
| Authorizing one or more person to act in single transaction | Rs 100 | Rs 100 |
| Authorizing not more than 5 persons to act in more than one transaction or generally | Rs.100 | Rs.100 |
| Authorizing more than 5 and not more than 10 persons in more than one transaction or generally | Rs 200 | Rs 100 |
| When given for consideration and or coupled with interest and when authorising the attorney to sell any immovable property | 5% on the market value or consideration amount whichever is higher | 1% |
| When given to a promoter or developer | 1% on market value of Property or consideration whichever is higher. Max Rs 15 lakh |
1%
(Max Rs 1.5 lakh) |
| When given to persons other than father, mother, wife or husband, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters in relation to the executant, authorising such person to sell immovable property situated in Karnataka state | 5% on the market value of the property | 1% |
| In any other case | Rs 200 | Rs 100 |
| Re-conveyance of mortgage property | Rs 100 | Rs 100 |
| Release | ||
| (i) Where release is not between family members | 5% on market value or consideration whichever is higher | 1% on market value or consideration whichever is higher |
| (ii) Where release is between family members | Rs 1,000 | Rs 500 |
| Settlement | ||
| (i) If disposition of property is not among the family members | 5% on the market value + Additional duty | 1% on the market value |
| (ii) If disposition of property among the specified family members | Rs 1,000 Additional duty | Rs 500 |
| (iii) Revocation of Settlement | Rs 200 | Rs 100 |
| Surrender of Lease | Rs 100 | Rs 100 |
| Transfer of Lease | ||
| (a) Where the remaining period is less than 30 years | 5% on the consideration | 1% on the consideration |
| (b) Where the remaining period is more than 30 years | 5% on the market value | 1% on the Market value |
| Trust | ||
| (i) Declaration of Trust- Concerning any money or amount conveyed by the author to the trust as corpus | Rs 1,000 | 1% |
| (ii) Concerning any immovable property owned by the author and conveyed to the trust of which the author is the sole trustee | Rs 1,000 | 1% |
| (iii) Concerning any immovable property owned by the author and conveyed to the trust of which the author is not a trustee or one of the trustees. | 5% (under article No. 20(1)) | 1% |
| (iv) Revocation of Trust | Max Rs 200 | Rs 100 |
| Will deed | NIL | Rs 200 |
| Cancellation of Will | Rs 100 | Max Rs 200 |
| Deposit of a Sealed Cover containing a will | Nil | Rs 1,000 |
| a) Withdrawal of Sealed Cover | Nil | Rs 200 |
| b) Fee for opening sealed Cover | Nil | Rs 100 |
| Got any questions or point of view on our article? We would love to hear from you. Write to our Editor-in-Chief Jhumur Ghosh at jhumur.ghosh1@housing.com |
