Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Legislative Assembly on Monday passed the Indian Stamp (Odisha Amendment) Bill, 2026, bringing in changes to simplify and streamline the registration and transfer process for apartment units in the state.
The bill, which was presented in the Assembly by Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari, seeks to simplify the transfer of common areas and facilities in apartment projects, reduce the financial burden on apartment owners and safeguard the state government’s revenue interests.
Under the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023, promoters are required to transfer the common areas and facilities of a project to the Association of Allottees through a registered deed before the transfer of individual apartment units.
The common areas and facilities include the project land, garages, staircases, lifts and other facilities associated with the apartment project.
According to the government, the stamp duty applicable to transfer of these common areas and facilities was imposing an additional financial burden on apartment owners.
To address the issue, the Bill proposes an amendment to Article 23(c) of Schedule I-A of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899.
Under the amendment, a nominal stamp duty of Rs 50,000 will be charged on the instrument transferring common areas and facilities from the promoter to the Association of Allottees.
The undivided proportionate share in the common areas will be included in the individual apartment transfer document, on which stamp duty will be charged at a uniform rate of 5 per cent.
The registration fee for the transfer of common areas and facilities in an apartment project had earlier been capped at ₹20,000.
Uniform 5% stamp duty for apartments
The Bill also introduced simplification of the existing slab-based stamp duty structure for individual apartment transfers.
Existing stamp duty is 3 per cent for apartments valued up to Rs 5 lakh, 4 per cent for those valued between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh, and 5 per cent for apartments valued above Rs 15 lakh.
The amendment seeks to replace these slabs with a uniform 5 per cent stamp duty rate for the transfer of all apartment units.
The state government has already provided a 90 per cent exemption on stamp duty and registration fees for houses available under affordable housing schemes for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
Hence, the earlier 3 per cent and 4 per cent stamp duty rates applicable to EWS housing costing up to Rs 15 lakh are no longer applicable after the 90 per cent exemption, the government said.
The amendment, earlier issued as an ordinance and published in Odisha Gazette, comes into force as the Indian Stamp (Odisha Amendment) Act, 2026.