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Indian Stamp Act Hub / Chapter VII - Criminal Offences and Procedure
Indian Stamp Act, 1899 - Professional Corpus - Batch 09

Chapter VII - Criminal Offences and Procedure

Separate civil deficit and penalty exposure from prosecution, evasion, false dating, unauthorised stamp sale and securities collection defaults.

Authors: CA Nikhil Gupta and Kajri SinghLegal review cut-off: 2026-07-18Unit 12 of 60India-first
Source control. The Central provision and Schedule architecture is mapped to India Code. Exact duty, market value, surcharge, concession, payment mode, penalty and procedure depend on the current State/UT statute, Gazette and transaction date.
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Dedicated Finin2min Summary - Chapter in 2 Minutes

  • Section 62: Penalty for executing, etc., instrument not duly stamped - convert the statutory rule into a classification, value, payer, evidence and State-source control.
  • Section 62A: Penalty for failure to comply with section 9A - convert the statutory rule into a classification, value, payer, evidence and State-source control.
  • Section 63: Penalty for failure to cancel adhesive stamp - convert the statutory rule into a classification, value, payer, evidence and State-source control.
  • Separate civil deficit and penalty exposure from prosecution, evasion, false dating, unauthorised stamp sale and securities collection defaults.
  • Do not quote a rate without the current State/UT Act, Schedule, amendments, surcharge/cess, market-value rule and authorised payment method.

Current statutory text / controlled source map

Section 62 - Penalty for executing, etc., instrument not duly stamped. Section 62A - Penalty for failure to comply with section 9A. Section 63 - Penalty for failure to cancel adhesive stamp. Section 64 - Penalty for omission to comply with section 27. Section 65 - Penalty for refusal to give receipt and devices to evade duty. Section 66 - Penalty for not making out policy or making one not duly stamped. Section 67 - Penalty for not drawing full number of bills or marine policies in sets. Section 68 - Penalty for post-dating bills and other devices to defraud revenue. Section 69 - Penalty for breach of rules relating to sale of stamps and unauthorised sale. Section 70 - Institution and conduct of prosecutions. Section 71 - Jurisdiction of Magistrates. Section 72 - Place of trial.

Section-by-section provision map

ProvisionSubjectStatusFinin2min clause-by-clause decodeImplementationEvidence/control
Section 62Penalty for executing, etc., instrument not duly stampedCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 62APenalty for failure to comply with section 9ACENTRAL SECURITIES REGIMERevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 63Penalty for failure to cancel adhesive stampCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 64Penalty for omission to comply with section 27CENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 65Penalty for refusal to give receipt and devices to evade dutyCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 66Penalty for not making out policy or making one not duly stampedCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 67Penalty for not drawing full number of bills or marine policies in setsCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 68Penalty for post-dating bills and other devices to defraud revenueCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 69Penalty for breach of rules relating to sale of stamps and unauthorised saleCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 70Institution and conduct of prosecutionsCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 71Jurisdiction of MagistratesCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.
Section 72Place of trialCENTRAL ARCHITECTURE - STATE OVERLAY REQUIREDRevenue default may escalate beyond deficit duty into penalty or prosecution.Separate inadvertent deficit, evasion, false statement, post-dating, unauthorised sale and securities default.Investigation file, approvals, payment, correspondence, system logs and defence memo.

Finin2min implementation explanation

Instrument and jurisdiction

Identify legal substance, execution location, property situs, parties, consideration, related instruments and the controlling State/UT law.

Rate and value

Apply the correct article, statutory base, market value, cap, minimum, surcharge, concession, remission and set-off with a reproducible calculation.

Payment and execution

Use an authorised stamp/e-stamp/franking channel, verify certificate, cancel where required and block execution until stamping controls are complete.

Cure and evidence

Preserve the original, payment proof, valuation and source pack. Route uncertainty through adjudication and defects through lawful impounding/cure or refund.

Practical examples and calculations

Chapter-specific scenario.

A transaction is ready to sign before the instrument class, State schedule, value, execution location and payment mode are confirmed. Stamp analysis must be completed as a legal closing condition.

Calculation/controlMethodEvidence
Duty calculationRate x statutory base, subject to caps, minimums, surcharge, concession and set-off.Calculation memo
ExposureDeficit + penalty + delay + litigation/enforcement cost.Risk model
EvidenceTie legal opinion, instrument, value and payment certificate.Closing file

Practical transaction application

  1. Classify every operative instrument and linked document by substance.
  2. Identify State/UT, execution date/place, property situs, payer and market-value rule.
  3. Capture the current Act, Schedule, amendments, notifications, concessions and authorised payment method.
  4. Compute and approve duty, surcharge, set-off, registration fee and tax overlays before signing.
  5. Verify certificate, execute/cancel, register/file, preserve evidence and manage adjudication, impounding, refund or litigation.

Authority, consent and execution controls

Stamp duty and registration alerts

Stamp duty and registration fee are distinct. Registration does not cure insufficient stamp, defective title, authority, illegality or missing mandatory registration. Rates and procedures may change through State Finance Acts, notifications, market-value rules and portal orders.

Evidence and document-retention checklist

Performance, delivery and payment controls

Closing gate

Do not release consideration, possession, securities or originals until stamping and execution conditions are satisfied.

Reconciliation

Reconcile duty and fee receipts to the exact instrument, amount, date, State, certificate and accounting entry.

Breach, loss, mitigation and remedy framework

Quantify deficit duty, penalty, interest/recovery, inadmissibility delay, transaction failure, registration consequences, counterparty indemnity and professional exposure. Consider adjudication, voluntary payment, impounding, endorsement, refund, appeal/reference, settlement and litigation.

Limitation and forum controls

Record the execution, first-receipt, impounding, Collector order, refund application, reference/appeal and underlying claim dates. The Stamp Act clock and the substantive contract/property/arbitration limitation clock must be managed separately.

Arbitration and mediation interface

Do not assume an arbitration clause or settlement avoids stamping questions. Apply current Supreme Court law, forum procedure and State amendments, and separate curability of stamp defects from validity, jurisdiction and merits.

Company, partnership, GST and tax overlays

Check Companies Act/LLP authority and filings, securities and depository rules, GST characterisation, income-tax/TDS, capitalisation or expense treatment, RERA/registration, FEMA and IBC consequences without netting them against stamp duty.

Finin2min Q&A

What is the first step?

Classify the legal instrument, State/UT and operative rights before applying Chapter VII - Criminal Offences and Procedure.

Can an online rate calculator replace legal classification?

No. Duty depends on the instrument substance, State schedule, market value, amendments, exemptions and related documents.

Is insufficient stamping always fatal?

The consequences and cure depend on the forum, State amendments and statutory impounding/payment process. The original instrument and exact current law must be reviewed.

What should the evidence file contain?

Official legal sources, final instrument, valuation, linked-document matrix, adjudication, e-stamp/franking proof, execution/cancellation evidence, registration record and cure/refund chronology.

Chapter-specific decision flowchart

Decision flow for Chapter VII - Criminal Offences and Procedure