SR value: what 'Sub-Registrar value' means, and how it sets your stamp duty
SR value is short for Sub-Registrar value - the government floor price your stamp duty is charged on. What it means, how to check it, and the tax trap.
PropWatch Editorial8 min read
You look up a flat on a registration portal and the price the system quotes is nowhere near what the seller is asking. That number is the SR value. SR value is short for Sub-Registrar value - the minimum value the government sets for a property in a given location, and the value the sub-registrar computes your stamp duty and registration fee on. It is the same thing Karnataka calls guidance value, Maharashtra calls the ready reckoner rate, and north India calls the circle rate. This guide explains the full form, how SR value differs from the market price, how to check it, and the tax consequence of registering below it.
SR value full form: what it stands for
SR value stands for Sub-Registrar value. The sub-registrar is the government officer who registers property transactions for a given jurisdiction (the sub-registrar office, or SRO). Every SRO area has a schedule of notified minimum values, street by street and layout by layout, published by the state's stamps and registration department. That notified minimum is the SR value. It does one job: it fixes the floor on which stamp duty and the registration fee are charged, so the state collects duty on a realistic value even when a sale is under-declared.
The value is granular. Two flats a kilometre apart can carry different SR values; an apartment and a plot on the same road usually do. The department revises the schedule from time to time, so the live figure for your exact property is the only one that counts.
SR value vs guidance value, circle rate and market value
SR value, guidance value, guideline value, circle rate and ready reckoner rate are the same concept under different state labels. The name changes at the state border; the function does not.
- Guidance value (also guideline value) - Karnataka.
- Guideline value - Tamil Nadu.
- Ready reckoner rate - Maharashtra.
- Circle rate - Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and much of north India.
- Collector rate - Punjab and Chandigarh.
- Market value / MV - Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (published through the IGRS portals).
Is SR value the same as market value?
No. SR value is the government's notified floor; market value is what a buyer and seller actually agree - the price written into the sale deed. In fast-moving city localities the market price usually sits above the SR value. In slower pockets, or right after a revision, the SR value can be the higher of the two. The gap between the two numbers is where the tax exposure sits, covered below.
How SR value sets your stamp duty and registration fee
Stamp duty and the registration fee are charged on whichever is higher: the actual sale price in the deed, or the SR value notified for that property. You cannot register below the SR value.
- Flat's SR value is 60 lakh, you agree 75 lakh: duty is charged on 75 lakh, the higher number.
- Flat's SR value is 60 lakh, you agree 55 lakh: duty is still charged on 60 lakh, because the sub-registrar will not register below the SR value.
So checking the SR value before you negotiate tells you the minimum registration cost you are committing to. In rupee terms that is stamp duty plus the registration fee plus any cess, all applied to the higher value. PropWatch's stamp duty calculator and its Bangalore stamp-duty guide set out the slabs that sit on top of this value.
How to check the SR value of a property
You do not need a login to look up an SR value. Each state publishes it through its registration department portal. Match the sub-registrar office, locality and property type to your actual document - the figure is only as accurate as the details you enter.
- Open your state's registration department portal - Kaveri Online Services in Karnataka, TNREGINET in Tamil Nadu, the IGR ready-reckoner in Maharashtra, or the state IGRS in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
- Find the valuation or 'know your property value' service on the home page.
- Select the district and the jurisdictional sub-registrar office (SRO) for the property.
- Drill down to the village, locality, street, layout or apartment as prompted.
- Select the property type - apartment, plot, or agricultural land - and enter the built-up or site area.
- Read the notified value the portal returns. That is the SR value your stamp duty will be computed on.
The tax trap: buying below the SR value
A common piece of bad advice is to register at the SR value while paying the seller more in cash, to shave the stamp duty. Registering below the price you actually pay is under-declaration, and it creates exposure under the Income-tax Act for both sides.
- For the seller: Section 50C treats the stamp duty value as the sale consideration for computing capital gains, if it exceeds the declared price beyond the tolerance band. A seller who under-declares can still be taxed on the higher SR value.
- For the buyer: Section 56(2)(x) treats the gap between the stamp duty value and a lower purchase price as 'income from other sources' in the buyer's hands, and taxes it.
- Current law allows a tolerance of up to 10% between the declared price and the stamp duty value before these provisions bite. If the SR value is within 110% of your price, the declared price stands; beyond that, the gap is taxed.
A worked example: you pay 60 lakh for a flat whose SR value is 70 lakh. Ten per cent of 60 lakh is 6 lakh, so the safe figure is 66 lakh. The SR value of 70 lakh is above that, so the 10 lakh gap is taxable - to the buyer under Section 56(2)(x), and to the seller as deemed capital gains under Section 50C. The stamp-duty saving from under-declaring is small next to that exposure, before you even reach the black-money risk of paying part of the price in cash. The precise limit and how it applies to a given transaction is a tax question for a chartered accountant.
What to check before you register
- Look up the SR value for the exact SRO, locality and property type before you agree a price.
- Compare it to the sale price - your duty is charged on whichever is higher.
- Budget stamp duty, the registration fee and any cess on that higher value, not the lower one.
- Declare the real sale price in the deed; do not register below the price you are paying to save duty.
- If the price is below the SR value, ask a chartered accountant about the Section 56(2)(x) implication before you sign.
- Confirm the live figure on the portal on the day you register - notified values are revised periodically.
SourceTamil Nadu Registration Department - TNREGINET (guideline value)
SourceIncome-tax Act, 1961 - Section 50C: stamp duty value as full value of consideration
SourceIncome-tax Act, 1961 - Section 56(2)(x): sum or property received for inadequate consideration
SourceFinance Act 2020 - increase of the safe-harbour limit under Sections 43CA, 50C and 56 from 5% to 10%
SourcePropWatch - Guidance value in Karnataka: how to check it, and how it sets your stamp duty
SourcePropWatch - Guideline value and stamp duty in Tamil Nadu: how to check it
SourcePropWatch - Stamp duty and registration charges in Bangalore (2026): the real cost
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