Why it is on the buy side only
The 2020 uniform stamp duty regime fixed the rates nationally and moved the duty to the buy leg, simplifying what was a mess of state-specific schedules. Because it is collected centrally through exchanges and depositories, the rate is the same whether you trade from Mumbai or a village in Bihar.
How small it really is
On a ₹1,00,000 delivery buy, stamp duty is ₹15. On the same amount intraday, ₹3. It is the smallest line on most contract notes, but it appears on every one of them, which is why calculators that ignore it are off by a few rupees on every estimate.
Stamp duty versus STT
Both are statutory and non-negotiable, but they behave differently: STT applies to both legs (or the sell for intraday), stamp duty to the buy leg only; STT rates differ by segment, stamp duty is flat per segment. People conflate them; your contract note lists them separately.
The 2020 uniform regime
Before 1 July 2020, stamp duty on securities varied by state and by instrument, and a share purchased in Mumbai could carry different duty than the same share purchased in Patna. The 2020 amendments to the Indian Stamp Act created a single national schedule for securities transactions, collected through the exchanges and depositories and transferred to the state where the buyer resides. The rates became uniform: 0.015% on delivery buys, 0.003% on intraday buys, 0.002% on futures, 0.003% of premium on options, always on the buy leg only.
Where stamp duty does not appear
Mutual fund purchases and redemptions carry no stamp duty, and IPO applications carry none. Off-market transfers of shares between two demat accounts are stamped under the state schedule for the transfer instrument, which is why off-market transfers show a separate duty line that on-market trades never do.
A concrete example
You buy 20 shares at ₹5,000 each, ₹1,00,000 in total, for delivery. The contract note shows stamp duty of ₹15 on that order. If the same purchase were intraday, the duty would be ₹3.
The numbers to remember
0.015%
Stamp duty on equity delivery buys
0.003%
Stamp duty on intraday buys
Buy side only
No stamp duty on any sell
Questions people ask about Stamp duty
The 2020 amendments unified stamp duty on securities into a single national schedule collected through exchanges and depositories, replacing a patchwork of state rates. That is why your contract note shows the same duty whether you trade from Kerala or Delhi.
No. Stamp duty on securities applies to the buy leg only. Sells carry STT and, for delivery, DP charges, but no stamp duty.
Yes. The national schedule applies across both exchanges and both depositories. A delivery buy shows 0.015% stamp duty whether the trade executes on NSE or BSE.
Settlement rounds turnover and duty to the settlement cycle’s precision, and the duty is computed on the settled value, not the indicative value shown on the order screen. Differences of a few paise are normal rounding, not an error.
Ready to put the words to work?
The account costs ₹0 to open, and the first year of AMC is free.