Stamp Duty on Partnership Deeds: A State & UT-Wise Guide for India (2026)

Stamps are a state subject under the Constitution, which is why one of the questions we get asked most often — "how much stamp paper do I need for a partnership deed?" — has no single answer. The duty for the exact same deed, with the exact same capital contribution, can be ₹100 in Meghalaya and ₹15,000 in Maharashtra. For a firm like ours that works with clients across multiple states, keeping this straight matters, so we've put together the full picture: how the duty is actually calculated, the rate in every state and UT, how to procure the e-stamp itself, and a few practical traps worth knowing before you sign anything.

Physical, pre-printed stamp paper has largely disappeared. In practice, procurement now runs through one of three channels, and which one applies depends on the state.

SHCIL e-stamping

The Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCIL) is the Central Record Keeping Agency appointed under the Indian Stamp Act, and its e-stamping system now covers the majority of states and UTs, including Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Puducherry, and several of the Northeastern states. You can buy the e-stamp directly at shcilestamp.com or at any Authorized Collection Centre (typically a bank branch licensed by SHCIL) by giving the names of the parties, the purpose ("Partnership Deed"), and the required amount.

A separate state-run portal

A few states run their own independent system rather than SHCIL. Rajasthan is the clearest example — stamp duty there is paid through e-GRAS (often accessed via the e-Panjiyan portal for anything requiring registration). Maharashtra is another — it uses the Government Receipt Accounting System / eSBTR (Electronic Secured Bank Treasury Receipt) route through the Inspector General of Registration rather than SHCIL, though the end result (a valid, verifiable stamp certificate) is functionally the same.

Authorized stamp vendors, notaries, or licensed franking agents

In some states and for smaller-value instruments, especially outside the SHCIL network, stamp duty is still collected the traditional way — paid to a licensed vendor or through franking machines at banks/notary offices.

Private facilitator services

Services such as eSahayak, eDrafter, Digilawyer, eStamper, and similar work across most of these channels — you give them the state, purpose, amount, and party names, and they route the request through whichever official system applies and deliver a certificate, usually within an hour, as either a soft copy or a physical printout. They are a convenience layer on top of the government systems, not a replacement for them, so it is still worth verifying the certificate on the relevant official portal once received.