Glossary· Costs & scheme terms
What is Stamp duty?
A flat 0.005% government levy on every mutual fund purchase.
In force since 1 July 2020, identical for every scheme and every AMC, applied to purchases and switches in but not to redemptions. Too small to influence a fund choice; included so the cost picture is complete.
For the formula and the constants behind this figure, see Methodology.
Guides that use Stamp duty
2 guides put this term to work.
- How mutual fund investing actually works: follow the money, liveInteractive diagrams of the whole pipeline — the route one ₹10,000 SIP takes through your platform, clearing, the AMC, the RTA and the custodian, and what each is allowed to touch.
- Exit load and expense ratio: the hidden costs of investingThe expense ratio split into three parts from April 2026, the caps that now apply, the charges that sit outside it — and why one percentage point can cost more than the principal.
More on costs & scheme terms
What you pay, and the rules attached to buying and selling units.
- Expense ratio
- The fund's annual running cost, as a percentage of assets.
- Direct vs Regular plan
- The same portfolio, sold with or without distributor commission built in.
- Growth vs IDCW option
- Whether gains stay invested or get paid out.
- Exit load
- A fee charged when you redeem within a stated period.
- Lock-in
- A period in which units cannot be redeemed at all.
- Minimum SIP / lumpsum
- The smallest instalment and the smallest one-time amount the scheme accepts.
- NFO
- A scheme's initial subscription window, before it starts trading.