Who pays stamp duty?
The normal practice in purchase transactions is that the buyer pays the stamp duty. It must be ensured that, in any event, stamp duty is not purchased in the name of a person/party who is not party to the document. If this happens, it will be treated as a document executed (signed) on unstamped paper and is admissible as evidence in a court of law. Therefore, stamp duty should be always purchased in the name party to the agreement.
Validity Of stamp duty
In the state of Maharashtra, stamp duty purchase is valid for the period of six month from the date of purchase. Therefore, the document must be executed within a period of six month of purchase of stamp duty. The validity period may vary from state to state.
(Arvind Jain is the Managing Director of Pride Group)
