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Two numbers describe every plot in Uttar Pradesh. One is set by the district; the other by the seller. Most confusion, and most overpaying, comes from mixing them up.
What the circle rate is
The circle rate is the minimum value per unit of land that the district assigns to each locality for the purpose of stamp duty. The District Magistrate publishes it as a schedule, under the UP Stamp (Valuation of Property) Rules, with separate figures for residential, commercial and agricultural land, and often with variants for plots on a main road versus interior lanes. The schedule is revised periodically, in practice about once a year, and each revision is a fresh document.
Its job is narrow. When a sale is registered, the registrar computes the circle value (area × circle rate) and charges stamp duty on the higher of that and the price in the deed. That is all the circle rate is for. It is not a valuation, not a listing price and not a guarantee.
The rate is published per square metre for residential and commercial land and per hectare for agricultural land. This site stores it exactly that way and never converts a stored value, so every figure can be checked against the district's own document line by line. Faizabad Road in Ayodhya, for instance:
- ₹12,000 per sq m
- Residential
- ₹24,000 per sq m
- Commercial
- ₹45,00,000 per hectare
- Agricultural
What the market rate is
The market rate is what a willing buyer pays a willing seller. It has no official source. It shows up in asking prices, in recent registered deeds, and in what a broker who works the area will tell you is realistic. On this site it appears as an asking range per square foot, dated, from the broker's own observations, and it is refreshed monthly.
Market rates move with roads, projects and demand. Circle rates move when the district revises the schedule. That is why the two diverge, and why the size of the divergence is worth reading.
Reading the gap
Market far above circle rate. Common on main roads in Ayodhya since 2019, and around the airport. The district has not caught up with the market, or the plot has frontage the schedule does not price separately. Stamp duty is charged on your price, so the tax base is the higher number. Ask what is driving the premium and check that driver on the project page, for example:
Airports Authority of India
AnnouncedAyodhya Airport Expansion
Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhya Dham, opened its first terminal at the end of 2023. The expansion tracked here covers the next phase: a larger terminal and runway works intended to take bigger aircraft and more daily flights.
Market close to circle rate. Common in interior villages a few kilometres off the highway. The premium is small, which can mean value or can mean a reason: poor access, a dispute, agricultural land use. The locality page's watch-outs and the safety checks are where to look.
Market below circle rate. Rare, and a red flag. Either the seller needs to exit fast, or the circle rate was set for a different kind of plot than the one on offer. Stamp duty is charged on the circle value regardless, so the saving on price is partly taken back in tax.
How the circle rate changes your cost
Take a 1,200 sq ft residential plot where the circle rate is ₹12,000 per sq m. That is about 111.5 sq m, so the circle value is roughly ₹13.4 lakh. Stamp duty at the general rate and the registration fee come to about ₹1.07 lakh on that value. If your agreed price is ₹20 lakh, the duty is charged on ₹20 lakh instead. The stamp duty calculator does this for any locality on the site, and the stamp duty guide explains the rates and the rebates.
What to do with this before you negotiate
- Look up the circle rate for the exact locality and land type, and note the effective date. If the schedule is old, a revision may be coming.
- Look up the asking range, and ask the broker for two or three recent registered prices on the same road.
- Work out the gap. Large: understand the driver and price the risk that it does not happen. Small: understand why.
- Budget stamp duty on the higher of circle value and your price, plus the registration fee, plus brokerage in writing.
The circle rate is the floor the state stands on. The market rate is what you stand on. Know both before the first offer.
Questions people ask
- Who sets the circle rate?
- The District Magistrate, as Collector, under the UP Stamp (Valuation of Property) Rules. Each district publishes its own schedule, locality by locality, and revises it, usually once a year.
- Can I register a sale below the circle rate?
- You can write any price in the deed, but stamp duty is charged on the circle value if that is higher, and a large gap invites scrutiny. The registrar does not refuse the deed; the tax simply does not go down.
- Why is the same locality priced per square metre in one place and per square foot in another?
- The government publishes circle rates per square metre for residential and commercial land and per hectare for agricultural land. Brokers and listings quote per square foot or per bigha. This site keeps the published unit for the circle rate and shows asking prices per square foot, and never stores a converted figure.
- Does a higher circle rate mean a better locality?
- It means the district values it higher for tax. That usually tracks the market, but with a lag. A locality whose circle rate was raised sharply at the last revision is one where the market moved first.
By
Awadhland editorial
Written and checked by the site's editorial team at Stringhead Technologies, Pune. Every rate and distance quoted comes from the data pages, with a source and a date.