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When a plot changes hands in Uttar Pradesh, two amounts go to the state before the deed is signed: stamp duty on the transfer and a registration fee for recording it. Together they are the largest cost after the land itself, and they are computed on a value the buyer often gets wrong.
The value they are charged on
Both charges are a percentage of the same base: the higher of the circle value (area × the district's circle rate for that locality and land type) and the price written in the sale deed. The circle rate guide explains where that rate comes from. In practice, on main roads the deed price is higher and sets the base; in interior villages the circle value often does.
Faizabad Road in Ayodhya, as an example of the published figures:
- ₹12,000 per sq m
- Residential
- ₹24,000 per sq m
- Commercial
- ₹45,00,000 per hectare
- Agricultural
Stamp duty
The general rate in UP is 7% of the value. Women buyers pay a lower rate, 6%, through a 1% rebate that applies only up to a property-value cap; above the cap the general rate applies to the whole value. Joint purchases by a man and a woman are treated on their own footing. The rates the site's calculator applies, with their effective dates and the source notification, are shown on every circle-rate page.
Registration fee
The registration fee is 1% of the same value, paid at the sub-registrar's office when the deed is presented. Earlier schedules capped the fee; check the current notification for whether a cap applies. The fee is the same for every buyer category.
Worked examples
A 1,200 sq ft residential plot on Faizabad Road, circle rate ₹12,000 per sq m, general rate:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Area in the published unit | 111.48 sq m |
| Circle value | ₹13,37,804 |
| Stamp duty at 7% | ₹93,646 |
| Registration fee at 1% | ₹13,378 |
| Paid to the government | ₹1,07,024 |
The same plot bought in a woman's name at 6%, if the value is within the rebate cap, saves ₹13,378 of stamp duty. If the agreed price is ₹20 lakh instead of the circle value, every line is computed on ₹20 lakh. The stamp duty calculator does this for any locality on the site and lets you switch the buyer category.
What is not in these numbers
- Brokerage. Agreed separately, in writing, before any site visit. Never a percentage of the deed value you did not agree to.
- Deed writing and legal fees. The deed writer or lawyer's charge for drafting and attending registration.
- Mutation. Recording the transfer in the revenue record after registration carries a small fee at the tehsil and is a separate application.
- Conversion. If the plot is agricultural in the record, the Section 80 declaration is its own process and cost; see the conversion guide.
Paying and proving it
UP uses e-stamping. The stamp certificate is generated for the computed value, the registration fee is paid against the same value, and both receipts go into the file with the deed. Keep them with the certified copy of the deed and the mutation order; the next buyer, or a bank, will ask for the set.
Civil Lines, 5.9 km from the Ram Mandir, has a higher circle rate than Faizabad Road, so the same area costs more to register there even at the same agreed price. Run both through the calculator before deciding which side of town the budget stretches to.
Questions people ask
- Is stamp duty charged on the price I pay or on the circle value?
- On whichever is higher. If your agreed price is above the circle value, on your price; if below, on the circle value.
- Does buying in a woman's name always save stamp duty?
- Only up to the property-value cap on the rebate. Above that cap the general rate applies to the whole value. Check the current notification; the cap has changed before.
- How is the registration fee different from stamp duty?
- Stamp duty is the tax on the transfer. The registration fee is the charge for recording the deed at the sub-registrar's office. Both are paid before the appointment and both are computed on the same value.
- Can I pay stamp duty online?
- Yes. UP uses e-stamping; the stamp certificate is generated for the computed value and attached to the deed. Your lawyer or deed writer normally handles it, but the receipt should be in your name.
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.