Section 39

Chapter IV: INSTRUMENTS NOT DULY STAMPED 33. Examination and impounding of instruments.—(1) Every person having, by law or consent of parties, authority to receive evidence, and every person in charge of public office, except an officer of police, before whom any instrument, chargeable, in his opinion, with duly is produced or comes in the performance of his functions, shall if it appears to him that such instrument is not duly stamped, impound the same. (2) For that purpose every such person shall examine every instrument so chargeable and so produced or coming before him, in order to ascertain whether itis stamped with a stamp of the value and descriptidn required by the law in force in India, when such instruments was executed or first executed: Provided that — (a) nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require any Magistrate or Judge of a Criminal Court to examine or impound, if he does not think fit so to do, any instrument coming before him in the course of any proceeding other than a proceeding under Chapter XII or Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898); (b) in the case of a Judge of a High Court, the duty of the examining and impounding any instrument under this section may be delegated to such officer as the Court appoints in this behalf. (3) For the purposes of this section, in cases of doubt— (a) the State Government may determine what offices shall be deemed to be public offices; and (b) the State Government may determine who shall be deemed to be persons in charge of public offices. Comments and Case-law [An arbitration award is required to be made on stamped paper by Article 12. This defect in the arbitration award is curable under section 33 and it cannot be said that section 35 of the Stamp Act imposes a permanent bar on the powers of the court to make such an arbitration award a rule of the court, even if the defect 1. Ins.by Bihar Act 6 of 1937 (from 14,1938) 2. See now the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) | Section 39: Collector's power to refund penalty paid under section 38, sub-section 39. Collector's power to refund penalty paid under section 38, sub-section (1)—(1) When a copy of an instrument is sent to the Collector under section 38, sub- section (1), he may, if he thinks fit, refund any portion of the penalty in excess of five rupees which has been paid in respect of such instrument. (2) When such instrument has been impounded only because it has been written ir contravention of section 13 or section 14, the Collector may refund the whole penalty so paid. Chapter VIII: SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS 73. Books, etc. to be open to inspection.— Every public officer having in his custody any registers, books, records, papers, documents or proceedings, the inspection whereof may tend to secure any duty, or to prove or lead to the discovery of any fraud or omission in relation to any duty, shall at all reasonable times permit any person authorised 'in writing by the Collector to inspect for such purpose the registers, books, papers, documents and proceedings, and to take such notes and extracts as they may deem necessary, without fee or charge. 74. Power to make rules relating to sale of stamps.—The State Government may make rules for regulating— (a) the supply and sale of stamps and stamped papers, (b) the persons by whom alone such sale is to be conducted, and (c) the duties and remuneration of such persons: Provided that such rules shall not restrict the sale of ten naye paise or five naye paise adhesive stamps. {S.O. 1367 dated the 11th October, 1982— In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 9 and Section 74 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (Act no. 2 of 1899). the Governor of Bihar is ploased to make rules that the duties of Stamp vendors and duties of Katibs (Deed writers) must not be performed by the same individual, 2. In view of the cleanliness of the Administration and for checking forgery and defaications it is highly desirable that the duties of a stamp vendor and that of deed writer should not be performed by the same person or individual, 3. This notification will come in force at once. [There is another notification also | Section 39: such instrument by which any House/ Flat or Building is being lent-on rent: In case of letting of Houses/flats and Buildings on rent:— Explanation 39. such instrument by which any House/ Flat or Building is being lent-on rent: In case of letting of Houses/flats and Buildings on rent:— Explanation.—along with the house/ flat or building any portion of land, beyond the minimum required area of set back is also let on rent then in that case stamp duty for the rent shall be chargeable according to Article-35, Letter of License, that is to say any agreement between a debtor and his creditors, that the latter shall, for a specified time, suspend their claims and allow the debtor to carry on business at his own discretion. Memorandum of Association of a Company: