From Dec, pay stamp duty at post office

The postal department, re-inventing itself through new initiatives, has now got a licence from the state government to collect stamp duty. The services will commence all over Maharashtra from December.

Jolted by the multi-crore stamp paper scam masterminded by Abdul Karim Telgi, the state had decided way back in 2004 to decentralise the collection of stamp duty. Subsequently, it introduced franking of documents to minimise the use of stamp papers. At the same time, it also authorised leading nationalised banks to collect stamp duty by franking documents.

The postal department will get 0.5% commission for every transaction from the government,’’ an official said.


Given that banks charge Rs 10 for franking each document to be registered, free franking will become the selling point of postal department, he added.

Moreover,post offices may decide to collect stamp duty till 5pm to have an advantage over banks which close public transactions mostly after 2pm.

The post offices in Mumbai entrusted to collect stamp duty include those at Bombay Stock Exchange, secretariat, Mantralaya, Andheri, Malad, Borivli (West), Chembur, Vashi, Thane (city) and Kalyan (town limits). Besides, the postal department would also offer this service at main post offices in Akola, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Ratnagiri, Sangli and Kolhapur. Citizens in Pune could pay stamp duty on their document at Parvati post office, Pune city head office and GPO, Pune.

POSTAL DEPT’S LATEST VENTURE

Customers coming to pay stamp duty will not have to pay franking charges

Post offices may decide to collect stamp duty till 5 pm to have an advantage over banks which wrap up public transactions mostly after 2pm

The postal department will get 0.5% commission for every transaction from the state government.