Odisha Scraps Slab-Based Stamp Duty: Uniform 5% Rate to Make Flats Costlier

25 Apr 2026, 09:24 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

The Odisha government just made a big change to how people buy apartments. Instead of the old slab-based stamp duty system, there’s now a flat 5% stamp duty rate for everyone. The state cabinet gave this the green light after a proposal from the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, which means the rules from 2008—designed to help buyers of low-cost housing—are gone. Before, you paid 3% stamp duty on flats up to ₹5 lakh, 4% for those between ₹5 and ₹15 lakh, and 5% only kicked in above ₹15 lakh. Officials say those old slabs don’t make sense anymore because it’s nearly impossible these days to find flats under ₹15 lakh. Prices have just shot up that much.

But not everyone’s happy about this shift. Experts and people in the industry are worried it hits buyers from Economically Weaker Sections and the lower middle class the hardest. The government says this makes buying homes simpler, but experts point out that buyers will face a hike in stamp duty now.

And there’s more. The new policy brings in a one-time ₹50,000 fee to register common areas through the Association of Allottees. Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari says it’s meant to cut down on repeat costs and make the whole process less complicated, but critics aren’t convinced. They’re calling it “double taxation,” arguing that buyers already pay for common facilities in their own registrations, so why get charged again? On top of all that, there’s confusion about the 2016 policy that offered women a 1% stamp duty concession. The cabinet didn’t clarify if that benefit is sticking around under the new 5% rule, leaving a big question mark for buyers counting on that help.