GoI invites suggestions on draft ‘Indian Stamp Bill, 2023’ from public

     New Delhi, January 17, 2024: Government of India has prepared a draft ‘Indian Stamp Bill, 2023’ to align it with modern stamp duty regime.

     The bill prepared by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Once enacted, shall replace the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, Finance Ministry sources said.

     Stamp duties are levied by the Central Government, but within the States are collected and appropriated by the concerned States in terms of provisions of Article 268 of the Constitution.

     The Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (2 of 1899) is a fiscal statute laying down the law relating to tax levied in the form of stamps on instruments recording transactions.

          The Indian Stamp Act, 1899, a pre-Constitution Act, has been amended from time to time to enable a more modern Stamp Duty regime.

     However, a number of provisions contained in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 have become redundant or inoperative and hence, there is a need to re-orient the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, the Finance Ministry said.

     Accordingly, it has been proposed that the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 is repealed and a new legislation is enacted to reflect the present realities and objectives.

     As a part of pre-legislative consultative process, the draft ‘Indian Stamp Bill, 2023’ has been uploaded on the website of Department of Revenue [https://dor.gov.in/stamp-duty/] for inviting suggestions from public in a prescribed proforma within a period of 30 days.

     The suggestions and comments on the draft Bill may be shared at the email id – sunil.kmr37[at]nic[dot]in in either MS Word (or compatible format) or machine-readable PDF format.