Himachal Assembly passes Stamp Duty Bill; Negi says amendments restore women’s concession, aim to curb evasion

September 4, 2026

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has passed the Indian Stamp (Himachal Pradesh Second Amendment) Bill, 2026, with Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi saying the legislation will rationalise stamp duty, restore concessions for women property buyers and help prevent evasion in high-value transactions.

The Bill, introduced by Negi in the Assembly on Tuesday, seeks to replace the existing Schedule 1-A of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, as applicable to Himachal Pradesh.

Speaking in Shimla, Negi said the amendment would raise the threshold for concessional treatment of women’s property transactions to Rs 1 crore.

Women to get 2 percent concession on property up to Rs 1 crore

Under the amended structure, women purchasing immovable property valued up to Rs 1 crore will pay stamp duty at 4 per cent, while properties valued above Rs 1 crore will attract an 8 per cent duty.

For other buyers, the stamp duty rate will be 6 per cent for properties valued up to Rs 40 lakh and 8 per cent for properties exceeding Rs 40 lakh.

Negi said the amendment restores a benefit that had earlier been available to women purchasing immovable property.

“The concession that was earlier given to women in immovable property transactions had been discontinued. We have now increased the limit to Rs 1 crore,” he said.

The Minister maintained that the revised rates would not put an additional burden on ordinary citizens and would primarily affect larger property transactions.

New Power of Attorney rules proposed

The legislation also introduces provisions relating to Powers of Attorney, which the government says are aimed at preventing misuse of property transactions and plugging loopholes.

Negi alleged that people from outside Himachal Pradesh, particularly from Punjab and Haryana, were increasingly involved in such transactions and claimed that this had contributed to irregularities and corruption.

Under the Bill, stamp duty on general Powers of Attorney will range between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000, depending on the authority granted.

Where a Power of Attorney is executed in favour of a person who is not a resident of Himachal Pradesh or involves property outside the state, a surcharge equivalent to 100 times the applicable base duty has been proposed.

The Bill also provides concessional stamp duty for specified family transactions involving spouses and close blood relatives.

Anti-evasion provision targets property transaction splitting

An important provision in the legislation seeks to prevent people from splitting property transactions into multiple deeds to avoid higher stamp duty slabs.

Under the proposed anti-evasion mechanism, linked transactions between the same parties within a period of one year may be clubbed retrospectively if their combined value crosses the prescribed threshold.

The Bill also proposes 2 per cent stamp duty on development agreements between builders and developers and agreements for the sale of immovable property.

For agricultural credit, Kisan Credit Card loans up to Rs 3 lakh will attract a nominal stamp duty of Rs 100, while loans above Rs 3 lakh will attract a duty of 0.1 per cent.

Negi also criticised the BJP for opposing the government’s fiscal measures, pointing to similar Rs 100 stamp duty provisions in BJP-ruled states.

The Himachal Pradesh government has maintained that the legislation is aimed at rationalising stamp duty rates, removing inconsistencies, strengthening revenue collection and plugging loopholes for evasion while retaining specified concessions for eligible transactions.