r/Indiastreetbets

I am trying looking for timeframe of 3-9 months, my rop 3 picks here are -
Apex
Signpost india
Kpi green energy

The third part in my Knowledge sharing journey are the statutory charges. All those who trade, buy or sell equities, derivaties, or infact mutual funds, when they look into their Contract Notes, they might have noticed that the final amount deducted from their trades never quite matches the clean ₹20 per trade or zero brokerage headline. A lot of beginners get mad at their brokers over these, so I wanted to break down what these fees actually are, who takes them, and how you can keep your overall leakages to a minimum.

Welcome to the world of Statutory Charges, the silent partners in every single trade you make. When you buy or sell a stock, your broker is just the middleman. The government and the regulators want their cut too, and your broker is legally forced to collect it from you.

Here is the quick breakdown of the un-skippable tax squad:

• STT (Securities Transaction Tax): This is the biggest tax collector. It’s a direct tax levied by the Central Government on the value of securities traded.
• Stamp Duty: Collected by the State Governments to legalize the transaction document.
• SEBI Turnover Fees: A tiny fraction that goes directly to the Securities and Exchange Board of India to keep the markets regulated.
• GST: Standard 18% tax applied, but thankfully only on the brokerage amount and exchange transaction charges, not the whole trade value.

These are government or regulatory charges that your broker simply collects and passes on. Whether you are using a a discount broker like HDFC Sky or full-service broker like Share Khan, these don't magically disappear, in fact these charges grow with your trading activity. The more you trade, the more the taxwoman eats.

To attract more consumers/traders the brokers have smartly kept it operational costs competitive, that is where the Low brokerage comes in. So next time you check your contract notes, do calculate percentage of your monthly returns usually goes into statutory charges versus actual brokerage.

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Hello everyone,

A few weeks ago, I posted a screenshot here asking for guidance as a 19M college student who put his savings into Five-Star Business Finance Ltd (FIVESTAR) based on a friend's advice. At the time, my portfolio of 23 shares bought at an average price of ₹481.82 was down about 4% (a loss of ₹456.05).

For context here's the link of previous post -

https://www.reddit.com/r/EquityResearchIndia/s/7AOT8hMGUq

Since this is all my college savings, I want to act responsibly rather than let greed take over. I am stuck between two choices:

1. Hold long-term: The stock seems to have good momentum, but as a student, I cannot afford a massive drawdown if it pulls back.

2. Sell and diversify: Take my ~12% gains, book the profit, and move this capital into safer, diversified options like a Nifty 50 Index Fund or an ETF to protect my base.

Should I completely exit the position now, trim half to secure my initial capital, or just let it ride? Please share your thoughts on the stock's current valuation.

Thank you for helping a beginner out!

Well i started to note these findings from june 20 so i dont have Schneider and happy forging and other stocks. Most of the stocks gave profits from their close/spot price. Some are resting the support again before they run.

Run. Sell.

For many traders, the immediate fear is a sudden liquidation, getting COOKED by one bad move. But the real, silent killer is the slow bleed of transaction costs, and the spread is the biggest part of that. Let's break down why this hidden cost is the real enemy and how understanding your broker's fee structure, is your first line of defense.

When you buy a futures contract, you buy at the Ask price and sell at the Bid. That gap = the spread. Even if the market doesn't move, you're already in the red the moment you enter. On a round trip (entry + exit), this invisible tax can cost you ₹50–₹200 per lot, depending on liquidity. Add to that the statutory charges, the little profit yiu would have made, has disappeared. One trade can easily cost you ₹150 to ₹250 in total. If you do 5 trades a day, that's over ₹1000 gone, just in costs. Over a month, ₹25,000–30,000 disappears, even if your trades are break even.

How to reduce this cost:

1. Know your broker's charges clearly – For example, HDFC Sky charges a flat ₹20 or 0.1% (whichever is lower) per order. That's simple and predictable. They also show a clear breakdown of all charges, so you know exactly what you're paying before you enter a trade, whereas ICICI Direct (Standard Plan): Charges up to 0.022% to 0.05% of the total turnover depending on your basic tier setup. High-volume trades easily exceed HDFC Sky's ₹20 flat rate.
2. Trade only popular contracts - Like Nifty, Bank Nifty, or Crude. These have smaller spreads because many people trade them.
3. Trade during busy hours – Between 9:15–11:30 AM and 2–3:30 PM. Spreads are tighter when volume is high.
4. Use limit orders instead of market orders – Don't rush. Set your price and wait. It saves you money**.**

Ignore this, and you will wonder at the end of the month why your account is lower, even though your trades weren't that bad.

I am embarking on a knowledge sharing journey, where I will strive to share my humble knowledge with the participants of this group. I would like the criticism and love the adulation and thereby improve myself day by day. Lets begin..

If you are new to options trading in India, here's a costly misconception Low or Zero Brokerage will reduce my trading costs. NO IT WONT. Low brokerage doesn't always mean low trading costs. Most leading brokers today, including HDFC Sky, Zerodha and Groww, have replaced percentage-based brokerage with flat-fee pricing, but the way those fees are applied can still catch beginners off guard.

In options trading, brokerage is generally charged per executed order, not per lot. That means buying 1 lot or 10 lots in a single order usually costs the same in brokerage. But if you split that trade into multiple entries or exits, whether out of caution or panic, each executed order attracts a separate brokerage charge, quietly increasing your overall cost.

That is why smart traders don't just compare the advertised brokerage, they also look at pricing transparency and the total cost of trading. HDFC Sky, for example, keeps it simple with a flat ₹20 per executed F&O order and clearly displays the applicable charges upfront, making it easier for beginners to understand what they're actually paying before they place a trade.

So from next time be smart. Just dont trade because your broker said Zero Brokerage.

This stock shot up the moment I received this notification from ICICI Direct