In a major revenue reform, the Gujarat government has granted a substantial 80 per cent waiver on stamp duty for property transfers conducted through allotment letters or share certificates by housing societies, associations, and non-trading corporations. The revised framework, approved by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, aims to significantly reduce the financial burden on small and middle-class families across the state.
As per the Chief Minister&rsquo;s Office, &ldquo;Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has decided to grant significant relief in the amount of duty payable for housing transfers to small and middle-class families and individuals in the state. As per this important revenue decision made by the Chief Minister, for transfers made through allotment letters and share certificates by societies, associations, and non-trading corporations, up to 80 per cent of the 100 per cent duty amount payable will be waived, and only 20 per cent of the duty will be collected. This relief in the payable amount will be provided under Section 9(a) of the Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958.&rdquo;
Under this provision, only 20% of the standard stamp duty is now applicable, with any penalties&mdash;if imposed&mdash;not exceeding the original duty amount. The state revenue department clarified that this reduced rate will only apply to property transfers executed through the aforementioned documents and will not extend to other forms of ownership change.
The recent decision follows a broader reform movement launched by the state government in March 2025, when the State Assembly passed amendments to the Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958. These amendments were designed to address tax evasion, simplify administrative procedures, and protect citizen property rights.&nbsp;
Among other changes, the definition of &ldquo;ownership transfer&rdquo; was expanded to include share transfers and tribunal orders, and significant reductions in stamp duty were introduced for legal heirs and mortgaged properties.
For instance, in the case of heirs to a deceased daughter&rsquo;s ancestral property, the stamp duty was reduced from 4.90% to a fixed Rs 200. Mortgage documents for loans up to Rs 1 crore also saw duty slashed from Rs 25,000 to a cap of Rs 5,000. For higher-value mortgages and multiple-lender arrangements, revised caps were introduced&mdash;Rs 15 lakh for loans above Rs 10 crore and Rs 75 lakh where multiple banks are involved.
The recent move to extend relief to housing society-based transfers, however, has raised fresh questions. Benefit News spoke with legal experts who expressed concern over the lack of clarity in the government notification.
Advocate Paresh Modi remarked, &ldquo;The government&rsquo;s notification does not provide clarity on whether refunds will be issued to those who paid full stamp duty before this decision. Also, there is no clarity on penalty. The government must clarify the penalty imposed and the refund mechanism. If this isn&rsquo;t addressed promptly, it will lead to confusion among the public and legal professionals.&rdquo;
Modi further stated, &ldquo;In my view, the 80% waive off will be based on individual cases. Now, a penalty of Rs 100, 200, 600, etc. will be applied after the 20% stamp duty is calculated. This means the final amount will likely exceed 20%. However, apart from the penalty, there are no additional charges. Earlier, the penalty ranged between 4% and 6%. The waive off was essential because of the hefty penalties people were paying.&rdquo;
Advocate Parth Raval added, &ldquo;No refund will be issued under this new rule. The penalty depends on the time period of the documents made. Earlier, the Deputy Collector (Stamp Duty) would assess the stamp duty and penalty based on how long the delay was. The government is expected to release a detailed schedule soon for clearer understanding. Currently, the exemption is only for residential units and not for other categories.&rdquo;
The issue of retrospective application has also emerged. As per amendments introduced in April 2025, stamp duty along with penalties&mdash;ranging between 2% to 3%&mdash;has begun to be levied on property registrations based on share certificates dating as far back as April 27, 1982, for societies and April 4, 1994, for associations. This change was implemented after 43 years of no such charges being applied.
The state government has also introduced fixed duty rates for lease agreements under one year, with Rs 500 for residential and Rs 1,000 for commercial leases. In cases involving multiple banks or insufficient stamp duty on original documents, specific provisions have been made to ensure full recovery from banks or through document copies, respectively.
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Share certificate-based property deals in societies now attract only 20% duty in Gujarat.

Gujarat Waives 80% Stamp Duty in Housing Societies

Share certificate-based property deals in societies now attract only 20% duty in Gujarat.

June 30, 2025 | 19:08 IST