STT, Exchange & Regulatory Charges
The alphabet soup of small statutory charges on every trade, decoded line by line.
Your contract note lists more than brokerageAn intermediary licensed to execute your trades.. These small statutory charges are levied by the government and exchanges, not your brokerAn intermediary licensed to execute your trades. — but they add up, especially for active traders.
- STT (Securities Transaction Tax) — a government tax on trades; higher and on both sides for intradayBuying and selling within the same trading day./F&OA contract whose value is derived from an underlying asset., lower for deliveryBuying shares to hold in your demat beyond the day..
- ExchangeA regulated marketplace where shares are bought and sold. transaction charges — a tiny fee to NSE/BSE.
- GST — 18% on (brokerageAn intermediary licensed to execute your trades. + exchangeA regulated marketplace where shares are bought and sold. charges).
- SEBIIndia’s securities-market regulator. turnover fee + stamp duty — minuscule per-trade levies.
- DP charges — a flat fee per scripA short code that uniquely identifies a listed stock. when you SELL from dematAn electronic account that holds your shares..
For a long-term investor making a few trades a year, these are rounding errors. For an active intradayBuying and selling within the same trading day. trader making dozens of trades daily, they’re a serious, recurring drag that quietly turns a “winning” strategy into a losing one. The more you trade, the more these charges tax your edgeA repeatable, structural reason your trades win over time..
Key takeawayBeyond brokerageAn intermediary licensed to execute your trades., every trade carries STT, exchangeA regulated marketplace where shares are bought and sold., GST, SEBIIndia’s securities-market regulator., stamp and DP charges — trivial for investors, a real drag for frequent traders.
FAQs
Why is intraday cheaper on brokerage but charges feel high?
Intraday often has lower/zero brokerage, but STT and the sheer number of trades stack up. Frequent trading multiplies the per-trade statutory charges, so total costs can be high even when each trade looks cheap.