Stamp Duty
Legally reviewed by Advocate Naresh Kalra -- see full credentials -- reviewer credit only, no consultation link, per platform editorial policy (see /editorial-guidelines/).
Stamp duty is a state-level tax paid on the registration of certain documents in India -- most commonly property sale deeds, gift deeds, and Powers of Attorney -- calculated as a percentage of the transaction or property value, with the exact rate, and any concessions, varying from state to state.
For an NRI, stamp duty typically comes up in two situations: registering a sale, gift, or transfer of
Indian property, where the duty is usually paid at the state-specific rate applicable where the property is
located; and stamping a Power of Attorney executed abroad before it can be registered or acted on in India,
where the applicable duty and procedure depend on both the state and, for a POA executed outside India, the
time limit for bringing it to India for stamping (commonly around three months, though this varies by
state). Underpaying or skipping stamp duty on a document that legally requires it can make that document
inadmissible as evidence in an Indian court until the deficient duty and any penalty are paid, so it is not
a step to treat as optional or postpone indefinitely.
