The government has decided to increase the stamp duty applicable to property lease and rental agreements by 100%, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Finance.
The new rates will come into effect on April 1st.
Currently, a stamp duty of Rs. 10 is charged for every Rs. 1,000 or part thereof of the total value of a lease or rental agreement.
This amount, which includes any applicable surcharges, covers the entire period of the agreement. As of April 1st, this rate will be doubled to Rs. 20.
The announcement was formalized in a gazette notification issued by Minister of Finance Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
This marks the first revision to the stamp duty on leases and rentals since 2006.
However, the Ministry clarified that the stamp duty charged on freehold agreements under the Consumer Credit Act will remain unchanged at Rs. 10 per Rs. 1,000 or part thereof.
The Ministry emphasized that while the increase aims to update outdated rates, there will be no impact on consumer credit-related freehold agreements.
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