Skip to content

CS Professional · Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances · Types of Documents

Kiran Pvt Ltd executed a sale agreement on plain paper and it is later unstamped. The firm argues that because the document is merely an 'agreement to sell' and not a conveyance, it needs no stamping and is therefore a document of a type that cannot be impounded. Under the usual principles on classification and stamping, what is the correct position?

The argument fails if the agreement is chargeable under the applicable stamp law. Stamp duty turns on the instrument's chargeability, not its label. An unstamped chargeable instrument is inadmissible until duty and penalty are paid, so the defect is curable rather than fatal.

  1. AAgreements are never chargeable with stamp duty
  2. BAn unstamped instrument chargeable with duty is not admissible in evidence until duty and penalty are paid, so the argument fails if the agreement is chargeable under the applicable State stamp lawCorrect
  3. CAn unstamped instrument is void for all purposes and can never be cured
  4. DOnly registered documents need stamping

Explanation

Whether stamp duty is payable depends on the schedule of the applicable stamp law, not on the label. An instrument chargeable with duty but not duly stamped cannot be admitted in evidence, though it can generally be cured by paying duty and penalty. Option C is wrong because defect is curable, and option D confuses stamping with registration.

Did you get it right without looking?

One question tells you little. A timed set on Types of Documents shows your real accuracy, how long you take and where you lose marks.

Practise Types of DocumentsFree diagnostic mock

More Types of Documents questions