Is there any time limit with which Stamp papers should be used for the purpose they are bought!
Please clarify. Thanks.
there is no expiry date / limited validity of a Stamp Paper. Once you buy a Stamp Paper; it remains valid till perpetuity. Stamp Act is silent upon the expiration of a Stamp Paper.
Answered by the Supreme Court in the case of Thiruvengada Pillai Vs Navaneethammal and Another where the Court held that the Indian Stamp Act prima facie does not stipulate any expiry date for the usage of Stamp Paper and since Section 54 only provides a recourse for refund in case a person does not wish to use the stamp paper within six months of such purchase, there is no obligation on the Purchaser of the Stamp Paper to use the same within six months.
The Indian Stamp Act, 1899, nowhere prescribes any expiry date for use of a stamp paper. Section 54 merely provides that a person possessing a stamp paper for which he has no immediate use (which is not spoiled or rendered unfit or useless), can seek refund of the value thereof by surrendering such stamp paper to the Collector provided it was purchased within the period of six months next preceding the date on which it was so surrendered.
The stipulation of the period of six months prescribed in Section 54 is only for the purpose of seeking refund of the value of the unused stamp paper, and not for use of the stamp paper. Section 54 does not require the person who has purchased a stamp paper, to use it within six months. Therefore, there is no impediment for a stamp paper purchased more than six months prior to the proposed date of execution, being used for a document.
