Is sale agreement registration mandatory in Karnataka under RERA?

Yes. Under Section 13(1) of the RERA Act 2016, a promoter is legally prohibited from accepting more than 10 percent of the total apartment cost as an advance payment without first entering into a written agreement for sale and registering it before the jurisdictional Sub-Registrar.

What is the stamp duty on an Agreement of Sale in Bengaluru without possession?

Under Article 5(e)(ii) of the Karnataka Stamp Act 1957, an agreement for sale executed without delivery of possession attracts nominal stamp duty of 0.5% (fifty paise per hundred rupees) of the consideration, subject to statutory minimums and maximum caps as amended in 2023. This is distinct from the full 5% conveyance duty paid later on the absolute sale deed.

What happens if a developer executes a sale agreement on simple ₹100 or ₹200 e-stamp paper?

Executing a builder-buyer agreement on inadequate ₹100 or ₹200 stamp paper violates the Karnataka Stamp Act and leaves the document legally insufficiently stamped. If a dispute arises, civil courts and RERA tribunals will impound the instrument under Section 33 of the Stamp Act, levying deficit duty plus a statutory penalty of up to ten times the deficit before admitting it in evidence.

Do buyers pay double stamp duty on both the sale agreement and the sale deed?

No. For ordinary under-construction flats, you pay Article 5(e)(ii) agreement duty first, and subsequently Article 20 conveyance stamp duty upon sale deed execution. In situations where full conveyance duty was stamped on an agreement with possession under Article 5(e)(i), the Sub-Registrar adjusts the duty already paid when the final sale deed is registered between the identical parties.

How do you make and register a sale agreement in Bengaluru, and do you pay stamp duty twice?

Piyush Mittal Partner & CBO

Last modified: 29 Oct 2026 • 5 min read

Direct answer: You pay stamp duty on the agreement and again on the sale deed, but not the full conveyance rate twice. Under Article 5(e)(ii) of the Karnataka Stamp Act, an agreement without possession attracts 0.5% duty. Under RERA Section 13(1), registering the agreement is mandatory before paying more than 10% advance.

Verify with your lawyer: This is general guidance from public rules, not a legal opinion on your flat or site. Have your own property lawyer read the papers before you pay.

Verify with your CA: Stamp duty, registration and tax figures follow the statute as we read it. Confirm the challan for your own document before you pay.

What are the key takeaways?

The agreement fixes the bargain. The sale deed transfers title. They are not substitutes.
Article 5(e)(i) stamps an agreement with possession like a conveyance. Article 5(e)(ii) is the lower duty when possession is not delivered.
Section 13 of the RERA Act requires a registered agreement before a promoter takes more than ten per cent.
From 31 August 2025 the conveyance registration fee is 2 per cent. Confirm which row Kaveri applies to the agreement.

What should the agreement say, including on a resale?

On a resale your lawyer drafts the agreement. Name the parties as on the title, the flat and the undivided share, the price and what it includes, the date of the sale deed, who clears the dues, and what happens if either side stops. It is not the sale deed. The three papers are separated in allotment letter, agreement and sale deed.

If you are buying from a promoter, do not start from a blank page. Section 13(2) says the agreement for sale has to be in the form the state prescribes. Karnataka RERA publishes a proforma, and the promoter files a version with the project. Compare the draft with that proforma before you sign. The checklist is in what to check in the builder's sale agreement and in whether builders must use the model form.

When do you have to register it?

For a promoter, registration is not optional. Section 13(1) says the promoter shall not accept more than ten per cent of the cost as an advance or application fee without first entering a written agreement for sale and registering it. That is true of a RERA agreement whether or not you get the keys that week.

For a resale between two people, section 17(1A) of the Registration Act requires registration where the agreement is a contract to transfer an immovable property and possession is handed over in part performance, without the sale deed yet. An agreement with no possession is not in that subsection. Many buyers still register it, because a registered agreement shows up on the encumbrance certificate and a later lender can see the contract. The click-path for a slot, biometrics and the deed itself is in how registration runs on Kaveri. Duty is paid as an e-stamp through the same system: Karnataka's digital e-stamp.

Instrument Type	Governing Karnataka Stamp Article	Applicable Stamp Duty	Registration Fee & RERA Status	Legal Purpose & Ownership Impact
Agreement for Sale (Without Possession)	Article 5(e)(ii)	0.5% of consideration value (subject to statutory maximums).	Nominal registration fee; mandatory under RERA s.13(1) before paying >10% advance.	Fixes commercial terms, payment milestones, and unit specifications; does not transfer ownership title.
Agreement for Sale (With Possession)	Article 5(e)(i)	Equal to conveyance duty (Article 20), typically 5% plus municipal cesses.	Mandatory registration under Registration Act s.17(1A); duty adjusted against final sale deed.	Protects buyer under part-performance (TP Act s.53A); formal ownership still awaits final conveyance deed.
Absolute Sale Deed / Conveyance Deed	Article 20	5% of guidance or market value + 2% Surcharge + 3% Cess (inside BBMP limits).	2% of total transaction value (notified Aug 2025); mandatory registration under Registration Act s.17.	Legally extinguishes developer title and transfers absolute, irrevocable ownership of flat and UDS to buyer.

Do you pay stamp duty twice, on the agreement and on the sale deed?

You deal with two instruments, so there are two assessments. They are not automatically two full conveyance bills.

Article 5(e) of the Karnataka Stamp Act covers an agreement of sale. If possession is delivered, or agreed to be delivered, before the conveyance, clause (i) charges the same duty as a conveyance under Article 20. If possession is not delivered, clause (ii) charges a smaller duty, fifty paise for every hundred rupees of consideration, and not less than five hundred rupees. A 2026 Karnataka High Court reading of clause (i) is strict: the agreement itself has to deliver possession or agree to. Having lived there earlier does not, by itself, push the paper into the conveyance-rate clause. Pay the figure Kaveri prints. The 2023 amendment revised caps. Do not rely on an old maximum.

A builder-buyer agreement for a flat you will occupy only after the occupancy certificate is normally the without-possession article. You pay that duty now, and Article 20 duty when the sale deed is registered. You should not budget the full conveyance percentage on both documents. Where the agreement was stamped like a conveyance because possession moved, ask the sub-registrar to adjust the duty already paid when the sale deed between the same parties, for the same property, is presented. Get that adjustment on the Kaveri calculation, in writing, before you pay the second challan.

Registration fee sits on top of stamp duty. A Revenue Department notification of 29 August 2025, RD/46/MNMU/2025, raised the conveyance registration fee to 2 per cent from 31 August 2025. Inside the corporation area, cess and surcharge sit on conveyance duty as well. The worked shape of that total is on how conveyance duty is built up. Which fee row applies to an agreement, as against a sale deed, is what Kaveri shows for that document type. Do not copy a blog table from before the notification.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay the full sale-deed duty on the agreement and again on the deed?

Not in the ordinary case. An agreement without possession pays the lower Article 5(e)(ii) duty. The conveyance rate is paid on the sale deed. An agreement that transfers possession is stamped like a sale, and that duty should be brought to the sub-registrar for adjustment.

Must a RERA builder agreement be registered?

Yes, before the promoter takes more than ten per cent of the cost. That is section 13. Possession arriving only at the occupancy certificate does not remove the registration.

Must a resale agreement be registered?

It must be registered if possession is given under it, under section 17(1A) of the Registration Act. Registering it even without possession puts the contract on the encumbrance certificate.

Does the 2 per cent registration fee apply to both documents?

The August 2025 notification rewrote the conveyance registration fee. Confirm on Kaveri which row it applies to the agreement you are filing. The sale deed is the conveyance.

Want to talk it through with acre&key?

If you want these papers read against a specific flat or site, book a consultation with acre&key.

Related on acre&key

References

Checked 28 Oct 2026.

Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957, Articles 5(e) and 20: https://dpal.karnataka.gov.in/storage/pdf-files/34%20of%201957%28E%29.pdf
Karnataka Stamp (Amendment) Act, 2023, as summarised against Article 5(e) and Article 6: https://www.jsalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/JSA-Prism-Corporate-February-2024-Stamp-Duty.Final_.pdf
Karnataka High Court on Article 5(e)(i), possession must be under the agreement (SCC Times, 11 June 2026): https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2026/06/11/possession-before-execution-of-conveyance-article-5-e-i-karnataka-stamp-act-1957/
Registration Act, 1908, section 17(1A), and Revenue Department notification RD/46/MNMU/2025 (registration fee from 31 August 2025): https://igr.karnataka.gov.in/
Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, section 13: https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/resources/staticpage/Real_Estate_Act.pdf

This page explains public rules and processes. It isn't legal or tax advice. acre&key gives buyers advice for free.