Andhra Pradesh waives stamp duty on 4,950 acres for BARC's Anakapalli campus
On 7 September 2026 the Andhra Pradesh government issued an order exempting the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre from stamp duty and registration fee on the land it is buying for its new campus in Anakapalli district. The first lot is 1,947 acres in Atchutapuram and Munagapaka mandals. The full project is 4,950 acres.
What the order does
BARC is India's main nuclear research body. It is building a research campus on the coast south of Visakhapatnam, in the belt between the Atchutapuram industrial area and the sea. Reports in late 2025 described a 3,000-acre campus with the land already in hand. The new order puts the whole project at 4,950 acres, to be registered in stages.
When land is sold in Andhra Pradesh, the buyer pays 5% stamp duty and 0.5% registration fee. Both are charged on the higher of the price paid and the value the registration office assigns to the land. Property of the central government is exempt from state taxes under the Constitution, and this order puts that exemption in writing for BARC's sale deeds. The Department of Atomic Energy asked for it in July 2024. It took until this week to be notified.
What the waiver is worth
The order does not say what BARC is paying, and it does not name the villages. So we went to the register and used the values the registration office itself assigns to farmland in these two mandals.
In the coastal villages where the campus sits, such as Tantadi and Pudimadaka, the office values an acre at about ₹10 to ₹12 lakh. Across Atchutapuram mandal as a whole the typical figure is ₹27 lakh, and across Munagapaka mandal ₹35 lakh.
At 5.5%, the waived duty comes to about ₹55,000 an acre at the coastal values, and ₹1.5 to ₹1.9 lakh an acre at the mandal-wide values. On 4,950 acres, the state is giving up somewhere between roughly ₹27 crore and ₹95 crore, depending on which villages' values apply. On the first 1,947 acres alone, between ₹11 crore and ₹37 crore.
Interest is up, sales are not
On Landeed, Atchutapuram and Munagapaka are now among the most-searched mandals in Anakapalli district. Searches for properties there have roughly doubled compared with a year ago, in step with the rest of the district.
The register does not show the same thing. Land sales in the two mandals have been flat for three years, and 2026 is on pace to come in lower.
So the people looking are mostly looking, not buying. That is what you would expect around a government project.
If you own or are considering land in these mandals, the sensible first step is the same as anywhere: pull the encumbrance certificate and the government value for the survey number before you decide anything. Landeed does both for any property in Andhra Pradesh in about a minute.
What is stamp duty on a land sale in Andhra Pradesh?
A state tax of 5% on a sale deed, charged on the price paid or the value the registration office assigns to the land, whichever is higher.
What is the registration fee?
The fee for recording a sale deed at the registration office. In Andhra Pradesh it is 0.5% of the same value the stamp duty is charged on.
Why is BARC exempt from stamp duty?
Property of the central government is exempt from state taxes under Article 285 of the Constitution. The 7 September 2026 order notifies that exemption for the sale deeds of the BARC project land in Anakapalli district.
What is the government value of land?
The value per acre or per square yard that the registration office assigns to each survey number. Stamp duty and registration fee are charged on this value if it is higher than the price in the deed.
Does this order change what I pay in Atchutapuram or Munagapaka?
No. It applies only to the sale deeds by which BARC acquires the project land. Every other sale in these mandals is charged the usual 5% stamp duty and 0.5% registration fee.
