Maha Govt Issues Ordinance To Revise Stamp Duty, Aims For ₹2,000 Crore Annual Revenue Boost

The MahaYuti government has enacted an ordinance to amend the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958. This new regulation, introduced on Monday, aims to significantly increase stamp duty on various documents.

Under the revised ordinance, the stamp duty on affidavits, agreements, and related documents will rise from ₹100 to ₹500. Additionally, the stamp duty on share capital has been raised from ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore.

The revenue department anticipates that these changes could generate an additional ₹2,000 crore in revenue from stamp duty and registration. This move aligns with similar amendments made in Karnataka.

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The state cabinet, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, approved these amendments during a meeting on September 30. According to a note from the state revenue department, “Schedule I to the Maharashtra Stamp Act is amended to simplify the chargeability under various articles, replacing ₹100 with ₹500.”

Specific changes include:

• Article 4 now mandates a minimum stamp duty of ₹500 for affidavits executed before government or semi-government bodies.
• Article 10 increases the stamp duty rate and maximum limit on share capital.
• Article 47 adjusts the minimum stamp duty for partnership instruments to ₹500, with a maximum of ₹50,000, and sets the same duty for the dissolution of partnerships.
• Articles 52 and 58 have been amended to charge ₹500 instead of ₹200.

Rajesh Kumar, additional chief secretary of the State Revenue Department, stated, “These amendments aim to bring simplicity and uniformity in stamp duty levies and enhance government revenue.” He added that the ordinance was necessary due to the State Legislature being out of session.

The revenue department highlighted that stamp duty and registration are crucial sources of revenue, second only to state GST. In the fiscal year 2023-24, Maharashtra generated ₹40,000 crore from these sources.

This ordinance is now in effect as of Monday.