Solar developers will be exempted from paying any stamp duty for land acquired or leased for solar projects and solar parks in Uttar Pradesh.

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced the 100% exemption on stamp duty as per the state’s Solar Energy Policy 2022.

The stamp duty exemption could help solar capacity additions in the state where land acquisition has been a major challenge.

Solar parks need large areas of continuous land. Several cases of land acquisition have faced problems with local authorities, landowners, and government agencies, which lead to higher costs for developers and make projects unfeasible.

The stamp duty exemption will apply after the district magistrate or the Deputy Commissioner of Industries confirms that the deed is being executed under the Uttar Pradesh Solar Policy 2022.

At the time of registering the land deed, developers are required to present the irrevocable bank guarantee of the amount equivalent to the remission of the stamp duty in favor of the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA).

The validity of the bank guarantee must be at least the time prescribed to complete the project.

However, units that have obtained the stamp duty exemption benefit under any other policy will not be eligible for a similar exemption under the Solar Policy.

Last November, the Uttar Pradesh government approved the ‘Solar Energy Policy, 2022,’ revising its target upwards to 22 GW of solar capacity by FY 2026-27.

The state had proposed a 16 GW solar capacity target in its draft policy earlier last year. The approved target capacity includes 14 GW of utility-scale power projects, 6 GW of rooftop solar projects, and 2 GW of distributed solar projects. UPNEDA has been designated the nodal agency for implementing the policy.