A Court Fee is a fee paid to the court to file a lawsuit or legal proceeding; it’s a fee for accessing the justice system. Stamp Duty is a tax levied on legal documents or instruments (like sale deeds, lease agreements) to make them legally valid and enforceable.

Court fees for money recovery suits are typically calculated ‘ad valorem,’ which means they are a percentage of the amount being claimed. Each state has a schedule in its Court Fees Act that specifies the percentage, often with a maximum cap.

Yes, in many cases. Under Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure and various state acts, if a case is settled through mediation, arbitration, or a Lok Adalat, a full or partial refund of the court fee is often permissible.

Ad valorem is a Latin term meaning ‘according to the value.’ An ad valorem court fee is a fee that is proportional to the value of the subject matter of the lawsuit. For example, the higher the amount you are suing for, the higher the court fee will be, up to a certain limit.

Court fees can be paid through several methods: by purchasing physical adhesive court fee stamps, by getting documents impressed with the fee amount from a treasury office, or through e-payment portals (e-Court fees) available in many states.

Most states have a maximum limit (a cap) on the ad valorem court fee payable, regardless of how high the suit is valued. For example, the maximum court fee in Delhi is capped at ₹1,50,000, while in Maharashtra it can be up to ₹3,00,000.

Stamp duty on a property sale agreement is calculated as a percentage of the ‘consideration value’ (the sale price) or the ‘circle rate’ (the minimum value set by the government), whichever is higher. The percentage varies from state to state.

Stamp duty is a tax that makes a document legally valid. Registration charges are a separate fee paid to the Sub-Registrar’s office for the service of officially recording the document in government records, which provides proof of the transaction.

An insufficiently stamped document is not admissible as evidence in a court of law. The authorities can also impound the document and levy a heavy penalty, often up to ten times the deficient stamp duty amount.

Generally, stamp duty must be paid before or at the time of executing a document. However, if there is a deficit, a person can approach the Collector of Stamps for ‘adjudication’ to determine the correct duty and pay the deficit, often with a penalty.

In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the Stamp Act specifies that for a lease agreement, the duty is payable by the lessee (the tenant).

Yes, but many states offer a significant concession. While the normal stamp duty on a gift deed is similar to a sale deed, for gifts to specified blood relatives (like parents, children, siblings), the duty is often a much lower, fixed nominal amount.

E-stamping is a secure, web-based method for paying stamp duty. A client goes to an authorized collection center, provides the details of the transaction, and receives an e-stamp certificate with a unique identification number, which replaces the need for physical stamp paper.

The stamp duty on a Power of Attorney (PoA) depends on its type. A general PoA usually has a fixed, nominal duty. However, a PoA given for consideration or authorizing the sale of immovable property is often stamped as if it were a sale deed itself.

It depends on the state. Some states charge a fixed stamp duty on partnership deeds, while others charge a duty that is proportional to the amount of capital contributed by the partners, often with a maximum cap.