E-stamping in Gujarat, explained: SHCIL, GARVI and your affidavit
Stamp paper has largely gone digital. If you have been told to bring an "e-stamp" for an affidavit or agreement and are not sure what that is or where it comes from, this page explains the system in plain terms — and is honest about the parts that change.
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What e-stamping actually is
Certain documents — many affidavits, agreements, declarations and undertakings — attract stamp duty, a small government charge that has to be paid for the document to be properly executed. Traditionally you paid it by buying physical non-judicial stamp paper from a licensed vendor. E-stamping is the modern alternative: you pay the duty and receive a computer-generated e-stamp certificate as proof, each carrying a unique number that can be checked online.
The advantage over paper is trust. A physical stamp can be forged, reused or damaged; an e-stamp certificate is recorded centrally and verifiable by its number, so anyone receiving it can confirm the duty was genuinely paid. In Gujarat the whole framework sits under the Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958, which was amended with effect from April 2025. For the document that most often needs a stamp, see our affidavit basics guide and the stamp paper service page.
SHCIL, GARVI, and who does what
Two names come up when people talk about e-stamping in Gujarat, and it helps to keep them straight:
- SHCIL — Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd. SHCIL acts as the Central Record Keeping Agency for e-stamping. It issues e-stamp certificates through its own branches and through Authorised Collection Centres (ACCs), and it maintains the central record against which each certificate is verified.
- GARVI — Gujarat's registration and stamps portal. Run by the Inspector General of Registration and Superintendent of Stamps, GARVI (garvi.gujarat.gov.in) handles online stamp-duty payment and registration services within the state.
Alongside these, franking and licensed stamp vendors still operate, so e-stamping is one valid route rather than the only one.
An honest caveat on the exact split
The precise division of roles between GARVI's online stamp-duty payment and SHCIL's e-stamp certificates — particularly for a small-denomination affidavit stamp in Vadodara — is not something we will state with false certainty. Local practice and portal arrangements vary, so for a specific document it is best confirmed at the time. When we prepare your document, we use the route that is correct and current for it.
Verifying an e-stamp certificate
The single most useful thing to know about an e-stamp is that you can check whether it is genuine. Every e-stamp certificate carries a unique certificate number, and SHCIL provides online verification at shcilestamp.com: enter the number and you can confirm the certificate exists, that the duty was paid, and see its details.
This matters most when you receive an e-stamp from someone else — a counterparty to an agreement, or an agent who prepared a document for you. Verifying takes a minute and protects you from a forged or reused stamp. It is also why e-stamping is generally preferred for anything where the other side needs assurance that the duty is real: the proof is built into the certificate, not dependent on trusting a piece of paper.
When an affidavit needs a stamp
The most frequent reason people encounter Gujarat stamping is an affidavit — a sworn written statement used for name changes, address proof, income declarations and countless other purposes. The standard sequence is: the affidavit is drafted, executed on non-judicial stamp paper or an e-stamp of the appropriate value, and then sworn before a notary, who administers the oath and records the act.
So the stamp and the notarisation are two different steps doing two different jobs. The stamp pays the small duty the law attaches to the document; the notary confirms you appeared in person and swore to it. Both are usually needed for the affidavit to be accepted. We explain the notary's side in notarisation explained, and the affidavit itself in affidavit basics. For the done-for-you version, our affidavit drafting service handles drafting, stamping and notarisation together.
The honest position on affidavit duty amounts
Why we do not print a fixed rupee figure here
The stamp duty on a general affidavit in Gujarat is small, but the exact amount is genuinely a moving target. The Gujarat Stamp Act was amended with effect from April 2025, and guidance since then points to a modest general affidavit duty, while older references still quote a lower pre-amendment figure. On top of that, practitioners sometimes deliberately use a higher denomination to pre-empt objections from a receiving authority, even though a smaller value may be legally sufficient. Given all that, printing a single number risks being wrong for your document on the day you use it.
The reliable approach is to confirm the current affidavit stamp duty against the official Gujarat stamps portal, or simply ask us when we draft your document — we set the correct, current value for your document type. Any government stamp cost is separate from our professional charge and is disclosed to you before work begins; where a document type has no fixed listed charge, we give you a fixed quote up front.
You can pay stamp duty online through GARVI or obtain an e-stamp via SHCIL and its Authorised Collection Centres; the broader registration and stamps framework sits with the Inspector General of Registration, Gujarat. When in doubt about whether your document even needs a stamp and of what value, that check is exactly what we do before drafting.
The bottom line
Every week we meet people who lost a month to a small avoidable mistake. The fee we charge exists to make sure you are not one of them. One message, a fixed written quote, and your paperwork moves.
E-stamping questions, answered plainly
What is e-stamping?
Who runs e-stamping in Gujarat?
How do I verify a Gujarat e-stamp certificate?
Does an affidavit in Gujarat need stamp paper?
How much is the stamp duty on an affidavit in Gujarat?
Is an e-stamp as valid as physical stamp paper?
When do I need an e-stamp?
Can Harsiddhi Services arrange stamping for my document?
Need a document stamped and notarised?
Tell us what you are preparing — an affidavit, agreement or declaration. We will confirm the correct current stamp value, arrange the e-stamp, draft the document and coordinate notarisation, so you collect a ready document. Government stamp cost separate and disclosed; fixed quote before work begins.