Himachal Pradesh Sets Out New Stamp Duty Structure For Property Deals

The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has approved changes to the state's stamp duty framework, bringing property transactions and a range of related legal documents under a revised rate structure.

The Indian Stamp (Himachal Pradesh Second Amendment) Bill, 2026, has proposed a new Schedule 1-A under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. The changes have covered property sales, agreements, mortgages, powers of attorney, bonds, arbitration awards and other instruments on which stamp duty is payable.

The revised structure has also introduced different rates depending on the value of a property and, in specified cases, whether the property is registered in a woman's name.

Property Value To Determine Stamp Duty

For women, the proposed stamp duty on property valued at up to Rs 1 crore is 4 per cent. Properties valued above Rs 1 crore will attract an 8 per cent duty.

For other buyers, the proposed rate is 6 per cent where the market value or consideration is up to Rs 40 lakh. The rate rises to 8 per cent once the value crosses Rs 40 lakh.

The bill has also proposed a stamp duty of 0.1 per cent for certain property transfers between close family members. The provision covers transfers between spouses and specified blood relatives, including parents and children.

A separate 12 per cent stamp duty has been proposed for property transactions involving non-residents who have obtained permission under Section 118 to acquire or lease land in Himachal Pradesh.

Sale Deed Splitting Faces New Check

The revised framework has sought to address a practice where a property transaction is divided into multiple sale deeds to keep individual transactions below a threshold and reduce the stamp duty payable.

Under the proposed rule, transactions between the same buyer and seller executed within a one-year period will be considered together if their combined value crosses the applicable threshold.

The stamp duty will then be calculated on the aggregated value rather than treating each sale deed as an independent transaction.

More Documents Covered Under Revised Schedule

The new schedule has covered more than property sale transactions. It includes agreements to sell, deposits of title deeds, documents relating to pledges and mortgages, powers of attorney, arbitration awards, bonds and sale certificates.

An affidavit fee of Rs 100 has also been proposed. The government has pointed out that the same fee is already applicable in states such as Bihar and Maharashtra.

The revised schedule has also fixed a Rs 2,000 stamp duty for adoption deeds.

Existing Rates Date Back To 2012

The changes come against a framework whose existing stamp duty rates date back to 2012. The earlier schedule was introduced through a notification issued on January 12, 2012.

The new structure has therefore sought to update the rates applicable to property transactions and a broader set of legal instruments. It has also created separate treatment for certain family transfers and introduced an aggregation mechanism for linked property sales.

The changes are intended to provide a revised basis for calculating stamp duty across different types of transactions in Himachal Pradesh.