What is a ready reckoner rate?
A ready reckoner rate is the rate a state publishes for each area to assess a property’s market value for stamp duty. Maharashtra calls it the annual statement of rates (ASR); Karnataka, the guidance value.
Also called circle rate, guidance value, annual statement of rates, ASR.
Stamp duty is charged on a property’s market value, not only on the price written in the agreement. To make that value checkable, each state publishes rates for each area or zone, revised from time to time. The name changes by state; the idea is the same.
Example: Maharashtra. The Department of Registration and Stamps prepares the Annual Statement of Rates to assess the true market value of properties for stamp duty, and publishes it through its e-ASR application, with yearly guidelines (the current ones are for 2026-27). Under section 2(na) of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, market value is the price the property would fetch in the open market on the day the document is signed, or the price stated in it, whichever is higher. If the registering officer believes the value is understated, section 32A says the officer refers the document to the Collector, who fixes the true market value under the state’s valuation rules and recovers the shortfall in duty, with a penalty of 2% a month on the shortfall from the date the document was signed.
Example: Karnataka. Under section 45B of the Karnataka Stamp Act, a Central Valuation Committee chaired by the Commissioner of Stamps estimates, publishes and revises the market value guidelines, known as guidance values. Its 2003 rules set a yearly cycle: instructions to sub-committees in the first week of October, final decisions before the end of February, and approved rates sent to the district registrars in the first week of March.
Worked example (sample figures, Maharashtra, municipal corporation area).
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Price in the agreement | ₹90,00,000 |
| Value from the ready reckoner rate | ₹95,00,000 |
| Stamp duty at 5% of the higher value | ₹4,75,000 |
| TDS at 1% of the higher value (buyer deducts) | ₹95,000 |
The 5% is Article 25(b)(i) of the Schedule to the Maharashtra Stamp Act. The TDS is 1% of the price or the stamp duty value, whichever is higher, under section 393(1), Table serial 3(i), of the Income-tax Act, 2025. Ready reckoner land rates also price other things in Maharashtra: premium FSI costs 35% of the ASR land rate, and TDR is converted between plots using their ASR rates.
Try your own figures in the stamp duty calculator and the TDS on property calculator.
Sources, read on 9 Nov 2026: IGR Maharashtra: about the ASR, ASR guidelines, Maharashtra Stamp Act, section-wise to 13 Jul 2026, article-wise to 22 Jul 2026, Karnataka Central Valuation Committee Rules, 2003, Income-tax Act 2025, s.393 and UDCPR 2020, updated to 30 Jan 2025.