The following instructions for the inspection of stamps are issued by
His Highness Government for the guidance of all offices (other than the
Ministers) and Courts (other than the High Court):- These rules shall
be named "the Rules for the Inspection of Stamps, 1936". (i)
There shall be a Commissioner of Stamps for the State of
Jammu and Kashmir and a Stamps Officer for each of the provinces of Jammu and
Kashmir. (ii)
The Stamps Officer shall work under the control of the
Commissioner or such other officer as the Commissioner may authorize in this
behalf. Subject to the
provisions of section 73 of the Stamp Act, 1977, the inspection of stamps shall
be done by a Stamps Officer who may be assisted in his work by an inspector. A Stamps Officer
shall draw up a programme for inspection work in every district within his
jurisdiction once at the end of each quarter of a year. He shall get the
programme approved from the Commissioner or from such officer as may be
authorized by the Commissioner under rule 2 before he takes up the inspection.] The inspection of
less important courts and offices may be entrusted to the Inspector working
independently. The inspection notes recorded by the Inspector shall be issued
by him on the spot. The office copies of these notes shall be scrutinized
immediately, after the inspection, by the [2][Stamps
Officer] and objections not approved by him will be withdrawn. As a rule, [3][the
inspection shall be confined] to files, documents etc., pending in courts and
offices. The following percentages are prescribed for the purposes of test
check of different kinds of files:- (A) Civil Courts (i) Civil suits ... All files
pending at the time of inspection except those examined at a previous
inspection. (ii) Execution files ... 30 to 40 percent
of the pending files. (iii) Criminal files ... 30 to 40 percent
of the pending files. (B) Revenue
Courts (i) Judicial files ... All pending files. (ii) Cases under the
Tenancy and the Land Revenue Act ... All pending
files. (iii) Miscellaneous
Revenue files ... 25 per cent of
the pending files [4][(iv) All files of the
Rehabilitation Department]. ... (C)
Registration Offices (i)
All pending files; and (ii)
Examination of documents registered in a particular month
select for test audit by the [5][Stamps
Officers]. (D)
Copying sections The test check of
copying fee stamps shall be conducted centrally at the office of the [6][Stamps
Officer], stamps of a particular month selected for test check shall be
obtained along with the relevant record fund statements and discrepancies if
any found settled. These stamps shall be destroyed by the [7][Stamps
officer] after verification and not returned to the copying section concerned.
A register shall be maintained for record of this branch of work done in the
office of Stamps officer. (E)
Other offices The scope of stamp
inspection in other offices will be limited to the examination of documents
which require to be stamped under the Stamp and the Court Fee Acts. The offices of
Ministers and the High Court The stamp
inspection of these institutions shall not be conducted by the [8][Stamps
Officer]. The following
procedure of work shall be adopted by the [9][Stamps
Officer]. In the case of inspection, the stamp officers shall draw the
attention of presiding officers of Courts and heads of offices to documents
before them which are insufficiently stamped and shall advise them, when
necessary, in relation to their powers and obligations as follows:- (i)
Under the Stamp Act- (a)
to impound documents under section 33 of the Stamp Act; (b)
to admit unstamped document in evidence under section 35
ibid; and (c)
to advise the Collectors, (if so required) regarding
disposal of impounded documents under section 38 and of cases coming before
them under sections 39 and 43 of the Stamp Act. (ii)
Under the Court Fees Act. -- To determine the Court Fees
leviable on any documents, the [10][Stamps
Officer] shall be at liberty to discuss the point at issue with the Presiding
Officer. Immediately after
the completion of the inspection, the Inspection Note shall be prepared and
sent to the Court concerned on the spot. The following
procedure will govern the disposal of stamp objections:- (a) Deficiencies
pertaining to Court Fees The final
authority to determine the amount of Court Fee payable on a plaint or appeal is
the Court under section 12(i) of the Court Fees Act. The decision of a Court in
this matter cannot be interfered with except when the case comes before the
appellate Court. Objections relating to Court Fee will therefore be waived
automatically if the Court disagrees with the views of the Stamps Officer.
Original files attached with the appeal shall also be examined and deficiencies
of Court Fee as well as of stamp duty shall be brought to the notice of the
Presiding Officer of the appellate Court for necessary action. (b) Deficiencies
of Stamp duty. -- In case of a difference of opinion between the Stamps Officer
and an officer presiding in a Court regarding stamp duty on a particular
document, the Stamps Officer may move the Collector to make an application to
the High Court under section 61 of the Stamp Act to adjudicate upon the matter,
if the question be one of importance. The Stamps Officer
is authorized to write off irrecoverable items of deficiency of stamps
(including penalty in the case of stamp duty) not exceeding Re. 1/- in each
case. The Stamps Officer
shall also see that the stamps used in the files inspected are genuine and have
not been removed from files and re-used. The verification
of stock of stamps at treasuries shall be done by the Stamps Officer or any
other officer whom the Commissioner of Stamps may authorize.] The Stamps Officer
may also verify the balance of stamps with licensed stamp vendors, if
practicable. The audit of
refund of stamp revenue shall continue to be done by the accounts office. If
necessary, the Stamps Officer will be consulted in cases involving points of
stamp law/. The Stamps Officer
shall also see that the stamp vendors and petition writers hold licences from
the [12][appropriate
authority] in the localities visited. The requisite lists shall be obtained by
the [13][Stamps
Officer] from the office concerned. Cases of serious
irregularities committed by the stamp vendors and petition writers detected
during inspections may be brought to the notice of the Licensing authorities by
the [14][Stamps
Officer] for disciplinary action. If necessity
arises, the [15][Stamps
Officer] shall be at liberty to conduct the inspection on test check basis of
the record rooms. But this inspection will only be undertaken in case when
there are grounds for suspicion with regard to illicit use of stamps already
used. Reference meant
for the High Court and the Hon'ble Ministers shall be approved and made by the
Commissioner of Stamps. The Presiding
Officers of all Courts and heads of offices will give the [16][Stamps
Officer] and [17][Inspector]
access to all records and amounts etc. and, so far as lies in their power,
assist them in the performance of their duties. In stamp
references before the High Court the [18][Stamps
Officer] may be asked to appear on behalf of the Stamp Department, but in no
other cases. The [19][Stamps
Officer] shall check the accounts of the recoveries in pauper suits in
the [20][Collector's
office] with special reference to their realization. The [21][Stamps
officer] shall submit to the Commissioner of Stamps [22][or
any other officer authorized by him under rule 2 (ii)] bi-monthly a report of
the work done and at the end of the inspection work in each province a report
on the work completed. A report
containing a brief account of the work done by the [23][Stamps
Officer] will be submitted to the Government in [24][March]
every year. Lists of outstanding items of the previous year will be prepared at
the same time and sent to the Controlling officers for expediting the disposal. [1]
Rules 2, 3 and 4 substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [2]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [3]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [4]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [5]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [6]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [7]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [8]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [9]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [10]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [11]
Rule 13 substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [12]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [13]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [14]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [15]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [16]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [17]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [18]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [19]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [20]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [21]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [23]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967. [24]
Substituted by SRO-164 dated 17-4-1967.THE RULES FOR INSPECTION OF STAMPS, 1936
PREAMBLE