Kagaznama

Promissory Note (Pronote)

At a glance

Price: Free
Stamp duty: Chargeable under Article 49, Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899.
Registration: Not compulsorily registrable, and not customarily registered at all. s.17 of the Registration Act, 1908 does not reach a personal promise to pay money that creates no interest in immovable property, and registering a negotiable instrument is not the practice in either Punjab or Chandigarh — a promissory note's enforceability rests on it being properly made and duly stamped, not on registration.
Witnesses: Not legally required. s.4 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 asks only for the Maker's signature to an unconditional promise to pay a certain sum to a certain person — it does not call for attestation, and many promissory notes carry no witness at all.

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Also called

Pronote
Pro-Note
Demand Promissory Note
Negotiable Promissory Note
Karza Chit
Rukka
Vachan Patra
ਵਚਨ ਪੱਤਰ

When you need it

A short, formal, unconditional written promise by one person (the Maker) to pay a fixed sum of money to another (the Payee) — on demand, on a fixed date, or a fixed number of days after the note — signed by the Maker alone. Because it meets the definition of a promissory note in s.4 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, it is a negotiable instrument in its own right, and a suit to recover the amount due on it can use the summary procedure under Order XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which is materially faster than an ordinary suit.

Deliberately brief. A pronote's strength is its simplicity — a plain, unconditional undertaking to pay, nothing more — so this is not the place for repayment schedules, security or default clauses of the kind a Loan Agreement carries. Use this alongside a Loan Agreement between Friends/Relatives where the loan has fuller terms (interest, instalments, security) and the note is taken in addition as the clean payment instrument; or use it alone for a simple, short loan or IOU where nothing more elaborate is needed. Not the Acknowledgement of Debt, which records a debt that already exists rather than making a fresh promise to pay. Not a cheque, and non-payment of this Note does not carry the criminal exposure a dishonoured cheque carries under s.138 of the same Act — that consequence is specific to cheques and this document does not create it. Not for a loan from a bank, NBFC or housing finance company.

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What follows is written for Punjab and Chandigarh. It states the position there rather than describing how it varies, so the amounts below are the ones that apply — worth confirming at the sub-registrar’s office, because rates change. If the property is anywhere else in India, none of this is yours.

Stamp duty

Chargeable under Article 49, Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. Stamp duty on a promissory note is one of the instruments listed in Entry 91 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, so — unlike an agreement, a lease or a conveyance — the rate is fixed centrally and is the same figure in Punjab and in Chandigarh; it does not need a separate state-wise answer. Confirm the current Article 49 rate for the amount of this Note, which depends on the sum payable and on whether it is payable on demand or after a period, through the Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL) e-stamping portal or a licensed stamp vendor, before the Note is signed. CRITICAL AND SPECIFIC TO THIS INSTRUMENT: this Note must be stamped BEFORE it is signed, not afterwards. Ordinarily, an insufficiently stamped instrument can be admitted in evidence once the deficiency and a penalty are paid — but the proviso to s.35 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 expressly excludes a bill of exchange or promissory note from that cure. A promissory note that is not duly stamped at the time it is made is generally incapable of being validated later by paying the duty and penalty, and a court can simply refuse to look at it. Buy the requisite stamp paper or adhesive stamp first, and only then sign. Under s.12 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, the Maker must cancel an adhesive stamp by writing on or across it, or signing across it, at or before signing — so that the stamp cannot be used again on another instrument — before or at the time of execution.

Registration

Not compulsorily registrable, and not customarily registered at all. s.17 of the Registration Act, 1908 does not reach a personal promise to pay money that creates no interest in immovable property, and registering a negotiable instrument is not the practice in either Punjab or Chandigarh — a promissory note's enforceability rests on it being properly made and duly stamped, not on registration.

Notarisation

Not legally required. Notarising the Note at or shortly after signing can help fix the date it was made beyond dispute, which matters because limitation for a suit on the Note runs from the date it falls due — the date of the Note itself, for one payable on demand.

Witnesses

Not legally required. s.4 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 asks only for the Maker's signature to an unconditional promise to pay a certain sum to a certain person — it does not call for attestation, and many promissory notes carry no witness at all. Two witnesses may still be taken, as an evidentiary comfort about the date and circumstances of signing, and this template leaves that optional rather than mandatory.

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PROMISSORY NOTE

Chandigarh, 1 April 2026

₹1,50,000 (Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand only)

For value received, I, Gurpreet Singh, of House No. 214, Phase 4, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali) 160059, PAN AFRPB2212K, jointly with Simran Kaur, PAN AFRPB2213L, House No. 214, Phase 4, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali) 160059, unconditionally promise to pay Harpreet Kaur, of House No. 1451, Sector 33-D, Chandigarh 160020, PAN AFRPB2211J, the sum of ₹1,50,000 (Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand only), payable on demand, together with interest as stated below, at Chandigarh.

This Note is payable to the Payee or order, and may be negotiated by the Payee to another person by endorsement and delivery under s.13 and s.15 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

1. INTEREST

1.1 interest-free — the Maker shall pay only the sum stated above, with no interest.

2. NATURE OF THIS NOTE

2.1 This is a promissory note within the meaning of s.4 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and the promise to pay contained in it is unconditional. It is not made payable to bearer, consistent with s.31 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

2.2 Under s.118 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, this Note, being a negotiable instrument, is presumed until the contrary is proved to have been made for consideration, to bear the date it shows, and, where a period is stated, to have been made payable within a reasonable time of that date.

2.3 Where more than one person signs this Note as Maker, each is jointly and severally liable for the whole of the sum stated above, and the Payee may recover the whole of it from any one of them without first proceeding against the others.

3. IF THIS NOTE IS NOT PAID WHEN DUE

3.1 If the sum due under this Note, or any interest on it, is not paid when it falls due, the Payee may recover it, with interest continuing to run as stated above, by civil suit — and because this is a promissory note founded on a written, unconditional promise, a suit to recover it may qualify for the summary procedure under Order XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

3.2 Non-payment of this Note is a civil default and does not, by itself, carry the criminal consequence that s.138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 attaches to a dishonoured cheque; this Note is not a cheque and that provision does not apply to it.

4. STAMP DUTY

4.1 Stamp duty on this Note is borne by The Maker, and has been paid before this Note was signed, consistent with the stamping note that accompanies this template.

5. JURISDICTION AND GOVERNING LAW

5.1 This Note is governed by the laws of India, and the courts at Chandigarh alone have jurisdiction over any suit or proceeding to enforce it.

6. GENERAL

6.1 This Note is the Maker's complete undertaking regarding the sum stated above, and is not varied by anything said or written elsewhere; any variation of its terms must be made by a fresh, separately stamped note or by a written instrument signed by the Maker.

Questions about this document

Does the Promissory Note (Pronote) need stamp paper or stamp duty in Punjab and Chandigarh?

Chargeable under Article 49, Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899.

See the full position on stamp duty, registration and witnesses

Does the Promissory Note (Pronote) need registration in Punjab and Chandigarh?

See the full position on stamp duty, registration and witnesses

What does the Promissory Note (Pronote) cost on Kagaznama?

Free.

Documents are free. Kits are free during our launch.

Does the Promissory Note (Pronote) need witnesses?

See the full position on stamp duty, registration and witnesses

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