KARACHI, May 10: The Sindh cabinet has approved a proposal of the Registration, Stamp and Evacuee Property Wing of the Board of Revenue to review the rate of stamp duty on financing documents to ad valorem rate of 0.2 per cent, which shall come into effect immediately, APP officially learnt on Thursday.
The decision was taken by the cabinet on May 7 when it met under the chairmanship of Governor Sindh and approved the promulgation of Stamp (Sindh Amendment) Ordinance 2002.
It may be recalled here that in pursuance of the Sindh Finance Ordinance, 2001, the stamp duty on financing documents were reduced from one per cent and bifurcated into following four categories for levy. a. Where the amount does not exceed 0.2% or Rs.1,000
Rs1 million whichever is less. b. Where the amount exceeds 0.2% or Rs.2,500
Rs1 million but does not exceed whichever is less.
Rs10 million c. Where the amount exceeds 0.2% or Rs.5.000
Rs10 Million but does not exceed whichever is less.
Rs100 million d. Where the amount exceeds 0.2% or Rs.10,000
Rs100 million. whichever is less.
The RS&EEP Wing had felt that rates of stamp duty were horrendously low and favoured the rich, influential and was discriminatory and disproportionate to other rates of stamp duty, which needed urgent correction and rectification.
The sources said the Wing intends to ensure its implementation by all concerned and shall use its authority vested by Section 73 of the Stamp Act,1899.
Sindh Cabinet also agreed to the RS&EP Wing proposal of deleting 34 out of 65 Articles reflected in the Schedule-I of the Stamp Act of 1899 through the same Stamp (Sindh Amendment ) Ordinance, 2002.
These instruments related to administration bond, adoption deed, agreement relating to sale of bill of exchange, agreement relating to sale of government security, agreement relating to sale as share in companies, exemption (B) to be deleted, agreement relating to deposit of title deeds, transfer of allotment, appointment in execution of a power, appraisement or valuation, apprenticeship deed, articles of clerkship, attestation, declaration of printing press, award, cancellation, composition deed, copy of extract; delivery order; divorce; entry as and advocate; indemnity bond; letter of allotment of shares; letter of license; hypothecation; mortgage of crop; note or memorandum; note of protest; protest of bill or note; protest by the master of a ship; proxy; receipt; respondentia bond; share warrants zhipping order; trust and warrant for goods.
The above documents were found either to be redundant or had less monetary gains for the provincial government and in a way with their deletion 100 million rupee relief was granted to the public.
In the same meeting, the cabinet also decided to exempt corporate agriculturel farming from stamp duty and registration fee so as to promote the same. The expected loss of revenue for the RS&EP Wing on this count shall be around Rs200 million.—APP
