CivilAct No. 2 of 1899In Force

The Indian Stamp Act, 1899

Levies stamp duty on specified instruments and documents in India. Inadequate stamping renders instruments inadmissible as evidence though they can be validated by paying deficient duty with penalty. The 2019 amendment harmonised stamp duty on securities market instruments, centralising collection through exchanges and depositories.

Sections

Schedules

Ministry

Ministry of Finance

Last Amended

2019-08-01

Key Provisions

→Instruments chargeable with stamp duty — Schedule I

→Ad valorem duty on conveyances, mortgages, and share transfers

→Adjudication by Collector for disputed stamp duty

→Impounding of insufficiently stamped instruments

→Consequences of non-stamping: inadmissibility as evidence

→Remission and refund of stamp duty

→2019 amendment: stamp duty on securities market instruments

→State legislatures: power to amend stamp duty rates for State list items

Related Practice Areas

real-estate corporate-advisory capital-markets

stamp dutystamp actinstrumentconveyanceshare transferimpounding

Section-by-Section Reference

We are building detailed section-by-section breakdowns for Stamp Act with plain English explanations. Subscribe to be notified when it is published.

Need Expert Advice on Stamp Act?

Corpus Juris Legal advises Delhi NCR businesses and institutions on all matters under Stamp Act. Partner-led attention from first advice to resolution.

Free Consultation

Indian government legislation is in the public domain under S.52(1)(q) of the Copyright Act, 1957. This reference is for educational purposes. Laws are amended frequently — verify the current text on the e-Gazette of India before relying on it for legal proceedings.