<p>The travails of buying document sheets by standing in long queues will, in all probability, end soon. But those in other cities and smaller towns across the State will have to put up with the inconvenience for some more time.<br /><br />After a delay of over a year, the State Revenue department is set to implement the proposed e-stamping system in Bangalore Urban district from July this year. Once this is done, all other existing systems of generating registration documents, including document sheets and franking, will be done away with.<br /><br />As a step in this direction, the Revenue department has framed separate rules for implementing e-stamping system – the Karnataka Stamp (Payment of Duty by Means of e-stamping) Rules, 2009 – under the Karnataka Stamp Act. A gazette notification was issued on April 8, 2009.<br /><br />E-stamping is a computer- based application by which stamp duty would be paid using electronic means. It is also a secure way to stamp documents as every e-stamp certificate will carry a unique, tamper-proof identification number. The Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCI), a Central government undertaking, will provide this service to the government.<br /><br />Once the State authorities give the green signal, SHCL will publicise the locations of its e-stamping counters in Bangalore. Duty can be paid by means of cash, pay order, bank draft and ECS. After filling in an application form providing details to be incorporated in the document, SHCL staff will generate e-stamp certificate on the spot. No fee will be charged for the service, but the PSU will receive 0.65 per cent as commission on the amount of duty collected with every certificate issued.<br /><br />E-stamping was introduced as a pilot project in March 2008, covering six sub-registrar offices in Bangalore. At that time, the department had assured extending the system across the State within three months. But the assurance remained on paper.<br /><br />B Surendra, District Registrar, Office of the Inspector General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps, said the work was on to put together “necessary infrastructure to implement the system”. <br /><br />While this caused some avoidable delay, Surendra said every sub-registrar office would be equipped with computer, printer and Internet facility to generate documents. “We are now in the final stage of procuring them,” he informed.<br /><br />Embedded in the rules are sufficient provisions to ensure that e-stamp certificates are not misused like stamp papers. Accordingly, the agency providing e-stamping service has to set up an e-stamping server, which will be accessible to all top department officials and sub-registrars, besides the agency.<br /><br />The rules spell out the duties to be performed by the agency, procedures for issuing the certificate, remittance of the duty to the government account, inspections and audit of the performance of the agency and public grievance redressal system.<br /></p>
<p>The travails of buying document sheets by standing in long queues will, in all probability, end soon. But those in other cities and smaller towns across the State will have to put up with the inconvenience for some more time.<br /><br />After a delay of over a year, the State Revenue department is set to implement the proposed e-stamping system in Bangalore Urban district from July this year. Once this is done, all other existing systems of generating registration documents, including document sheets and franking, will be done away with.<br /><br />As a step in this direction, the Revenue department has framed separate rules for implementing e-stamping system – the Karnataka Stamp (Payment of Duty by Means of e-stamping) Rules, 2009 – under the Karnataka Stamp Act. A gazette notification was issued on April 8, 2009.<br /><br />E-stamping is a computer- based application by which stamp duty would be paid using electronic means. It is also a secure way to stamp documents as every e-stamp certificate will carry a unique, tamper-proof identification number. The Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCI), a Central government undertaking, will provide this service to the government.<br /><br />Once the State authorities give the green signal, SHCL will publicise the locations of its e-stamping counters in Bangalore. Duty can be paid by means of cash, pay order, bank draft and ECS. After filling in an application form providing details to be incorporated in the document, SHCL staff will generate e-stamp certificate on the spot. No fee will be charged for the service, but the PSU will receive 0.65 per cent as commission on the amount of duty collected with every certificate issued.<br /><br />E-stamping was introduced as a pilot project in March 2008, covering six sub-registrar offices in Bangalore. At that time, the department had assured extending the system across the State within three months. But the assurance remained on paper.<br /><br />B Surendra, District Registrar, Office of the Inspector General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps, said the work was on to put together “necessary infrastructure to implement the system”. <br /><br />While this caused some avoidable delay, Surendra said every sub-registrar office would be equipped with computer, printer and Internet facility to generate documents. “We are now in the final stage of procuring them,” he informed.<br /><br />Embedded in the rules are sufficient provisions to ensure that e-stamp certificates are not misused like stamp papers. Accordingly, the agency providing e-stamping service has to set up an e-stamping server, which will be accessible to all top department officials and sub-registrars, besides the agency.<br /><br />The rules spell out the duties to be performed by the agency, procedures for issuing the certificate, remittance of the duty to the government account, inspections and audit of the performance of the agency and public grievance redressal system.<br /></p>