Impressed duty stamp

Last updated May 03, 2024

An impressed duty stamp is a form of revenue stamp created by impressing (embossing) a stamp onto a document using a metal die to show that the required duty (tax) had been paid. The stamps have been used to collect a wide variety of taxes and duties, including stamp duty and duties on alcohol, financial transactions, receipts, cheques and court fees. Usage has been worldwide but particularly heavy in the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth.

History in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the first impressed duty stamps were used following the introduction of stamp duty in the Stamps Act 1694, An act for granting to Their Majesties several duties on Vellum, Parchment and Paper for 10 years, towards carrying on the war against France (5 & 6 Will. & Mar. c. 21).^[1] The duty ranged from 1 penny to several shillings on a number of different legal documents including insurance policies and documents used as evidence in courts. It raised around £50,000 a year and although it was initially a temporary measure, it proved so successful that its use was continued.

Successive Acts have created new duties up to the present day and impressed duty stamps have been used until recently to collect the taxes with electronic methods now taking over.

The tax was enforced by making the documents unenforceable in court if they had not been properly stamped. The tax was either a fixed amount per document or ad valorem where the tax varied according to the value of the transaction being taxed.^[2]

The first stamps were issued by the newly created Board of Commissioners of Stamps. Distributors of the stamps were appointed throughout the country. Later, the poet William Wordsworth was the distributor in Westmorland.^[2] The stamps were embossed onto the document directly, at first without any inking (known as albino), and later using colour. In the case of parchment the stamp was first applied to paper which was attached to the document using glue and a tin metal strip.^[2]

Adoption worldwide

The use of the stamps in the United Kingdom was so successful that the same model was soon adopted in the rest of British Empire. The stamps have also been used in many other countries.

Revenue meters

In many countries, revenue meters have replaced impressed stamps as they are more efficient and the stamp is quicker to apply. Operating like a meter franking machine, they are manufactured by many of the same companies, for instance Pitney Bowes and Neopost.^[3]

Over-embossing dies

Over-embossing dies may be confused with impressed duty stamps as they appear similar. In fact, they are applied to adhesive revenue stamps to cancel the stamp and tie the stamp to the document on which it is placed. Often in red, they will usually include the date on the top and bottom of the die and are produced using the same method as impressed duty stamps. They normally show no value as they are not stamps but in a few cases over-embossing dies have been adapted to include a value and to serve as stamps, for instance in Penang, Singapore and Malacca.^[3] In 1901, De La Rue produced a short Report upon Stamping of Documents that explained the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods of stamping and included a sample over-embossing on an Imperium stamp.^[4]

Pre-printed revenue stamps

The "Stamp Duty Paid" mark that appeared on British cheques from 1956 to 1971 when the tax on cheques was cancelled Stamp Duty Paid mark for British cheques from 1956.jpg — The "Stamp Duty Paid" mark that appeared on British cheques from 1956 to 1971 when the tax on cheques was cancelled

A pre-printed revenue stamp is a type of revenue stamp where the stamp is incorporated into the design of the document and printed at the same time as the rest of the document.^[3] They are distinct from impressed duty stamps in being neither impressed nor embossed. Pre-printed revenue stamps were often included in the design of cheques to prevent the need to separately stamp each cheque. They are also found incorporated into the design of stock certificates and are analogous to imprinted stamps in the postal field without the embossing sometimes found there. They also have similarities to stamped paper, but unlike stamped paper, where the stamp is usually large and the rest of the paper blank, the pre-printed revenue stamp is normally only a small part of the document, perhaps appearing in a corner, and often no larger than a typical postage stamp.

In the United Kingdom, a pre-printed stamp, without a stated value, appeared on cheques from 1956 bearing the words "Stamp Duty Paid" that prevented the need for each cheque to be separately embossed with a stamp as had previously been the case.^[5]

Related Research Articles

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The adhesive embossed postage stamps of the United Kingdom, issued during the reign of Queen Victoria between 1847 and 1854 exhibit four features which are unique to this issue:

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A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other things. Typically, businesses purchase the stamps from the government, and attach them to taxed items as part of putting the items on sale, or in the case of documents, as part of filling out the form.

Stamped paper is an often-foolscap piece of paper which bears an imprinted revenue stamp. Stamped papers are not a form of postal stationery as although they may contain writing, they are not designed to be used to convey a message.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revenue stamps of Malta</span>

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Revenue stamps of the United Kingdom refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive, directly embossed or otherwise, which were issued by and used in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from the late 17th century to the present day.

Australia issued revenue stamps from 1907 to 1994. There were various types for different taxes. In addition to Commonwealth issues, the states of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia as well as the territories Australian Capital Territory, North Australia and Northern Territory also had their own stamps.

The Australian state of Western Australia issued revenue stamps from 1881 to 1973. There were various types for different taxes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revenue stamps of Tasmania</span>

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Revenue stamps of Ireland refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive, directly embossed or otherwise, which have been used on the island of Ireland since 1774. These include issues by the Kingdom of Ireland, issues by the United Kingdom specifically for use in Ireland or briefly Southern Ireland, and issues of an independent southern Ireland since 1922. Revenue stamps of Northern Ireland were also issued from 1921 to the 1980s, but they are not covered in this article.

The island of Cyprus first issued revenue stamps in 1878 and continues to do so to this day. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus also issues its own revenue stamps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revenue stamps of British Guiana</span>

Revenue stamps of British Guiana refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive or directly embossed, which were issued by British Guiana prior to the colony's independence as Guyana in 1966. Between the 1860s and 1890s, the colony issued Inland Revenue and Summary Jurisdiction stamps, while revenue stamps and dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps were issued during the late 19th and 20th centuries. In around the 1890s or 1900s, British Guiana possibly issued stamps for taxes on medicine and matches, but it is unclear if these were actually issued. Guyana continued to issue its own revenue stamps after independence.

The South African Republic (ZAR), later known as Transvaal issued revenue stamps from 1875 to around 1950. There were a number of different stamps for several taxes.

Revenue stamps of Jamaica were first issued in 1855. There were various types of fiscal stamps for different taxes.

Uganda issued revenue stamps from around 1896 to the 1990s. There were numerous types of revenue stamps for a variety of taxes and fees.

Revenue stamps of Seychelles were first issued in 1893, when the islands were a dependency of the British Crown Colony of Mauritius. The first stamps were Mauritius Internal Revenue stamps depicting Queen Victoria overprinted for use in Seychelles, and Bill stamps were also similarly overprinted. Postage stamps depicting Victoria or Edward VII were overprinted for fiscal use at various points between 1894 and 1904, while surcharges on Bill stamps were made in around 1897–98.

Revenue stamps of Hawaii were first issued in late 1876 by the Kingdom of Hawaii to pay taxes according to the Stamp Duty Act of 1876, although embossed revenue stamps had been introduced decades earlier in around 1845. The stamps issued in 1876–79 were used for over three decades, remaining in use during the Provisional Government, the Republic and after Hawaii became a U.S. Territory. Some changes were made along the years: from rouletted to perforated, and some new values, colours, designs and overprints were added. Some postage stamps were briefly valid for fiscal use in 1886–88 to pay for a tax on opium imports, and a stamp in a new design was issued for customs duties in 1897. A liquor stamp was issued in 1905.

Revenue stamps of Northern Ireland refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive, directly embossed or otherwise, which were issued by and used in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. From 1774, various revenue stamps of Ireland were used throughout both Northern and Southern Ireland, while revenue stamps of the United Kingdom were also used to pay for some taxes and fees.

Revenue stamps of the Leeward Islands were issued by the British Leeward Islands between 1882 and the 1930s. They were used on Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Montserrat and Saint Kitts and Nevis, all of which also issued their own revenue stamps before, during or after they used common issues for the Leeward Islands.

Revenue stamps of Guyana refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive, directly embossed or otherwise, which have been issued by Guyana since its independence in 1966. Prior to independence, the country was known as British Guiana, and it had issued its own revenue stamps since the 19th century. Guyana used dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps until 1977, and it issued revenue-only stamps between 1975 and the 2000s. The country has also issued National Insurance stamps, labels for airport departure tax and excise stamps for cigarettes and alcohol.

References

↑ Russell, David Lee. The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies. McFarland & Company, 2000, p.27. ISBN 978-0-7864-0783-5
1 2 3 Barefoot, John., ed. Great Britain Revenues. 4th edition. York, United Kingdom: J. Barefoot Ltd., 2002, p.3. ISBN 0-906845-62-9
1 2 3 Barber, W.A. The Impressed Duty Stamps of The British Colonial Empire. Updated edition. Chesapeake, Virginia: William A. Barber, 2009, p.vi. ASIN B0006FCFGG
↑ "Over-embossing a 6d Imperium Proof" by Simon Heap in Cameo, Vol. 14, No. 2, Whole Number 89, June 2013, p. 70.
1 2 Taxes and stamp duty. Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2013. Archived here .

External links

Embossed Revenues at Onder de Loupe. Archived here.

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[1] Russell, David Lee. The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies. McFarland & Company, 2000, p.27. ISBN 978-0-7864-0783-5

[barefoot-2] 1 2 3 Barefoot, John., ed. Great Britain Revenues. 4th edition. York, United Kingdom: J. Barefoot Ltd., 2002, p.3. ISBN 0-906845-62-9

[barb-3] 1 2 3 Barber, W.A. The Impressed Duty Stamps of The British Colonial Empire. Updated edition. Chesapeake, Virginia: William A. Barber, 2009, p.vi. ASIN B0006FCFGG

[4] "Over-embossing a 6d Imperium Proof" by Simon Heap in Cameo, Vol. 14, No. 2, Whole Number 89, June 2013, p. 70.

[cccc-5] 1 2 Taxes and stamp duty. Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2013. Archived here .

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