In terms of the provisions of entry 91 of Union List, the Central Government has the power to levy stamp duty on issue of debentures. However, some state stamp laws also  BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  provide for duty on issue/transfer of debentures.
Stamp duty laws need to be rationalised to provide an incentive to issuers and work is already on in this direction. Use of corporate bonds a collateral 24. Post Global Financial Crisis has seen large scale use of non-sovereign papers as collateral by the central banks for providing liquidity during periods of stress.