1. What is stamp duty on land?

Stamp duty is fees paid to Government to authenticate documents and make them legally binding in courts of law. Generally, duty is payable on every document that confers any right or liability upon being created, transferred, limited, extended, extinguished or recorded documents on which stamp duty is paid are referred to as instruments and they are listed in Schedule 2 of the Stamp Duty Act as amended. Without stamp duty, such documents are not admissible in court i.e. cannot be provided as evidence. Stamp duty on land is paid at the point of transfer of the said land basing on the value given by the Chief Government Valuer

2. Who is required to pay stamp duty on land and does it apply to all land tenure systems such as mailo, freehold and leasehold?

In case of land, stamp duty is paid in the names of the buyer of the land and in case of leasing, it is paid in the names of the person land is leased to. Yes. 

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