Who owns and develops GIFT City
GIFT City is developed by Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Limited (GIFTCL), established by the Government of Gujarat through Gujarat Urban Development Company Limited. The State transferred land to GIFTCL under Government Resolutions of 2011, which GIFTCL recites in its tender documents.
GIFTCL develops infrastructure and grants development rights in individual plots to co-developers, who build and then lease or sell space. In a 2023 GIFTCL tender for a project in the processing area of the SEZ, for example, the underlying land is given to the co-developer on leasehold for 99 years at an annual lease rent, the co-developer bears stamp duty and registration charges, and it may lease or sub-lease space to entities engaged in banking, insurance, capital markets, IT and ITeS, financial services and other authorised services that have received a letter of approval for their unit. Each project's terms are set in its own documents.
For an occupier, the practical point is that the landlord is usually a co-developer, and its rights are limited by its own agreement with GIFTCL.
Premises for an IFSC unit
An IFSC unit's premises are tied to its SEZ approval. IFSCA's set-up workflow runs:
- identify space with a co-developer and sign a letter of intent;
- obtain the provisional letter of allotment and no-objection certificate, which the Common Application Form asks for;
- obtain the SEZ Letter of Approval;
- sign the lease with the co-developer and file a copy with IFSCA on SWIT within 6 months of the Letter of Approval.
Do not sign the lease before the Letter of Approval. Diarise the 6-month date when the letter arrives. See SEZ unit approval and after approval.
The lease should also allow for the life of the unit: changes of approval, expansion, and exit. When the unit closes, the premises are handed back as part of closing the SEZ unit. See exit.
Stamp duty and registration
Stamp duty on instruments executed in Gujarat is governed by the Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958. Schedule I charges, among others, leases and leave and licence agreements (Article 30) and transfers of lease (Article 57). Duty on property instruments is assessed by reference to market value, and the State publishes market value guidelines (Jantri rates) through its online registration portal. A Collector can adjudicate the duty payable on an instrument under section 31 of the Act.
Registration is a separate step under the Registration Act, 1908. Check whether the lease must be registered, as well as stamped, before relying on it.
Three State measures can change the cost:
- IFSC units. GIFT City's guides describe a stamp-duty exemption for acquisition of movable or immovable property and activities related to setting up units in GIFT IFSC, for ten years from 4 August 2020. Confirm its scope for the particular instrument.
- IT and ITeS units. Under the IT/ITeS Policy (2022-27), stamp duty and registration fees paid for lease, sale or transfer of land and office space count as eligible capital expenditure, and lease rentals as eligible operating expenditure, within the Policy's limits.
- Financial institutions. The Gujarat Stamp (Amendment) Act, 2025, from a date to be notified, makes a bank, NBFC or similar financial institution liable for duty on specified instruments in its favour, and adds time limits for bringing instruments to the Collector for adjudication.
See Gujarat incentives and stamp duty.
Residential and domestic-zone property, and land elsewhere in Gujarat
Residential and commercial space in the domestic zone is bought or leased from developers on ordinary terms, with stamp duty and registration under the general law. An IFSC unit's employees renting homes in GIFT City are in the same position as tenants anywhere in Gujarat.
Outside GIFT City, land matters are handled by the Revenue Department and the district Collectors. Before acquiring land, check the record of rights and property card through the State's online land records services, the tenure of the land, and whether permission for non-agricultural use is needed.
Common pitfalls
- Signing the lease before the SEZ Letter of Approval, or missing the 6-month filing window.
- Assuming the State exemption covers every instrument, or every party, without checking the notification.
- Overlooking that the co-developer's own rights and restrictions under its agreement with GIFTCL bind the occupier.
- Leaving the lease silent on exit, expansion or a change in the unit's approval.
- Paying duty on an instrument without the evidence needed to claim it back under an incentive policy.