Stamp duty in Punjab (India), 2026
On a sale deed in Punjab (India) you pay 7.25% of the higher of the price and the Collector rate: 5% stamp duty plus a 1% Social Infrastructure Cess, a 1% Punjab Infrastructure Development Board fee and a 0.25% Special Infrastructure Development Fee.
A woman buyer pays 3% instead of 5% on the duty itself, and registration adds 1% of the same value, capped at Rs 2,00,000.
Smaller papers cost far less: an eleven-month rent agreement is 4% of the annual rent, and a general power of attorney with no power to sell is Rs 2,000.
Checked on against the Punjab Revenue Department’s published table, “Document wise detail of Stamp Duty, Registration Fee and Facilitation charges” (revenue.punjab.gov.in), and the notifications our document pages cite. That table carries no date and no notification number, so confirm each figure at the Sub-Registrar’s counter before you buy stamp. Guide updated .
What is stamp duty, and when is it paid?
Stamp duty is a tax on the document itself. Under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 it must be paid before or at the time the document is signed (section 17); stamping afterwards is a defect, not a formality.
A document that is not duly stamped cannot be received in evidence and will not be registered (section 35). It can be admitted later only once the missing duty is paid with a penalty that can run up to ten times the deficiency.
On a sale, duty is charged on the higher of the price in the deed and the Collector rate. In Punjab the Collector rate is fixed for each revenue estate by the Deputy Commissioner as Collector, revised every year with effect from 1 April, and published on the district website and the PLRS website. Writing a lower price does not lower the duty: under section 47-A the registering officer can refer an undervalued deed to the Collector, who can demand the deficit with penalty and interest long after the sale.
What are the stamp duty rates in Punjab in 2026?
These are the rates our document pages state, from the Revenue Department’s table as checked on 6 September 2026. A pasting fee of Rs 200 is also charged on every document registered.
| Document | Stamp duty | If registered |
|---|---|---|
| Sale deed | 7.25% of the higher of price and Collector rate: 5% duty, 1% cess, 1% Board fee and 0.25% Special Infrastructure Development Fee. A woman buyer pays 3% instead of 5% on the duty. | Compulsory. Fee 1%, minimum Rs 50, maximum Rs 2,00,000, plus facilitation charges |
| Rent agreement for less than one year (such as 11 months) | 4% of the annual rent: Rs 9,600 on a rent of Rs 20,000 a month. The deposit is not added. | Optional. Fee 1% of the annual rent, plus a Rs 500 facilitation charge |
| General power of attorney, no power to sell | Rs 2,000 (Rs 4,000 where more than five persons are concerned) | Optional. Fee Rs 400, plus Rs 2,000 facilitation charges |
| Power of attorney to sell, given to someone who is not a family member | 2% of the consideration or the Collector rate, whichever is higher | Ask us |
| Agreement to sell | Ask us: the department’s table has no line for it, so ask at the Sub-Registrar’s counter | Needed once the buyer is given possession under it |
| Receipt for money over Rs 5,000, such as a token receipt | One rupee, by a revenue stamp signed across | Not registrable |
One rent exception matters. Where the Punjab Rent Act, 1995 reaches the premises, an eleven-month term changes nothing: the Act requires its own Schedule I agreement, registered on a flat Rs 1,000 fee set by the Act. Our eleven-month rent agreement is for the premises the Act does not reach.
Is stamp duty lower for women in Punjab?
Yes, on a sale deed. Notification No. S.O.127/C.A.2/1899/S.9/2010 dated 11 February 2010 reduces by two percentage points the duty on a conveyance executed in favour of a woman buyer, so she pays 3% instead of 5%. It was still the operative notification on 6 September 2026.
- It applies to a conveyance only, not to a gift, lease, mortgage, partition or power of attorney.
- It reduces the stamp duty alone. The 1% cess, the 1% Board fee and the 0.25% Special Infrastructure Development Fee are paid in full, so on a Rs 1 crore deed the saving is Rs 2 lakh, not Rs 2.25 lakh.
- On a joint purchase, the way the rebate is shared rests on a 2018 news report whose notification could not be traced, so ask the Sub-Registrar how it will be computed before you buy the stamp.
What do you pay besides stamp duty?
On a sale deed, these are paid at registration against the same challan:
- Registration fee: 1% of the same value, minimum Rs 50 and maximum Rs 2,00,000, under Notification No. S.O. 11/C.A.16/1908/Ss.78 and 79/Amd./2019 dated 4 February 2019.
- Facilitation charges: Rs 1,000 where the consideration is up to Rs 10 lakh, Rs 3,000 from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh, and Rs 5,000 above Rs 30 lakh.
- Pasting fee: Rs 200 on every document.
Later, at the revenue office and not to the Sub-Registrar, the buyer pays the mutation fee for the intkal: Rs 600 on the department’s table, but ask at the counter what it now is.
Tax is separate. Where the price is Rs 50 lakh or more, the buyer deducts tax at source and deposits it against Form 26QB; confirm the current threshold and rate with your chartered accountant.
Can a transfer within the family be free of stamp duty?
It can. Order No. S.O.28/C.A.2/1899/S.9/2014 dated 7 May 2014 remits stamp duty in whole on an instrument by which an owner, during their lifetime, transfers immovable property to a blood relation, defined as children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters. If that is what is really happening, a sale deed is the wrong and expensive paper.
How do you buy e-stamp paper in Punjab?
Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd (SHCIL) is the Central Record Keeping Agency for e-stamps and issues e-stamp certificates in Punjab for amounts above Rs 49,999. You fill in SHCIL’s e-stamp application form, pay the duty at an authorised e-stamp centre (a bank, a SHCIL office or an authorised collection centre, the ACC whose name and code go at the top of the form), and the centre prints the certificate.
For a smaller amount, such as the Rs 2,000 on a general power of attorney, our pages say to buy non-judicial stamp paper from the licensed vendor at the tehsil complex, or an e-stamp where the counter offers one. Ask the Sub-Registrar’s office which it wants before you go.
- Buy it in the name of a party to the document. A certificate in a stranger’s name is a defect.
- Do not buy it far in advance. Under the Revenue Department’s circular No. 07/15/2026-ST-2(PF-1)/10837 dated 11 July 2026, an e-stamp certificate left unlocked for more than four months is locked, and an e-registration receipt left unlocked for more than one month is locked.
At registration on Easy Registry the e-stamp is locked against the deed, so it cannot be used again. Our Mohali registration guide walks through those steps.
How do you confirm the rate before you pay?
The figures here were checked on 6 September 2026 against the Revenue Department’s table. That table carries no date and no notification number on its face, so put the figure to the counter of the Sub-Registrar or Joint Sub-Registrar of the tehsil where the property lies, or to the Deputy Commissioner as Collector of Stamps, before you buy the paper.
If you are unsure what duty a document needs, ask the Collector to decide it with an application for adjudication of stamp duty. Bought stamp paper you did not use? Make a stamp paper refund application. For the tables and calculators in one place, see our stamp duty page.
Questions people ask
What is the stamp duty on a sale deed in Punjab in 2026?
7.25% of the higher of the sale price and the Collector rate: 5% stamp duty, a 1% Social Infrastructure Cess, a 1% Punjab Infrastructure Development Board fee and a 0.25% Special Infrastructure Development Fee. Registration is a further 1%, capped at Rs 2,00,000. These figures were checked on 6 September 2026; confirm them at the Sub-Registrar’s counter before you buy stamp.
How much stamp duty does a woman buyer pay in Punjab?
3% instead of 5% on the stamp duty itself, on a sale deed only. The 1% cess, the 1% Board fee and the 0.25% Special Infrastructure Development Fee still apply in full, so the saving on a Rs 1 crore deed is Rs 2 lakh.
What is the stamp duty on a rent agreement in Punjab?
For a lease of less than one year, such as an eleven-month agreement, 4% of the annual rent: Rs 9,600 on a rent of Rs 20,000 a month. If you register it, add a 1% registration fee, a Rs 500 facilitation charge and a Rs 200 pasting fee. Where the Punjab Rent Act, 1995 reaches the premises, the Act’s own Schedule I agreement must be registered instead, on a flat Rs 1,000 fee.
Is stamp duty on a Punjab sale deed 7% or 7.25%?
7.25%. A figure of 7% leaves out the 0.25% Special Infrastructure Development Fee, which sits on top of the 5% duty, the 1% cess and the 1% Board fee. It was confirmed as a standing charge by a notification of 28 February 2023, though the department’s own table may not list it. Budget for 7.25% and ask at the counter which you are being charged.
Is a Rs 100 stamp paper enough for a rent agreement?
Usually not. Printing a rent agreement on a Rs 100 stamp paper is convention, not law, and against the published rates it under-stamps very nearly every tenancy. An under-stamped agreement can be impounded and cannot be used as evidence until the shortfall and a penalty are paid.
This guide explains the rules as our document pages state them. It is not legal advice about your own situation; for that, speak to somebody who has heard your facts.