Revenue stamps of Fiji

Last updated

Revenue stamps of Fiji were first issued in 1871 or 1872, when the Fiji islands were an independent kingdom. The first revenue stamps consisted of postage stamps overprinted with the letter D. [1] [2]

After Fiji became a British crown colony in 1874, postage stamps and dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps began to be used for fiscal purposes. A new design depicting Queen Victoria and inscribed FIJI STAMP DUTY was prepared in 1880, and it was coarsely printed by the Government Printer in Sydney. The issue consists of ten stamps with values ranging from 1d to £1, [1] and it was issued on Fiji sometime in 1883. Some stamps are known postally used, although this was contrary to regulations. This issue remained in use until 1896, when postage stamps became valid for fiscal use once again. All remaining stocks were destroyed in 1903. [3]

Revenue-only stamps were reintroduced on 1 January 1911, when postage stamps were once again overprinted for fiscal use with a letter R and with a vertical bar cancelling the original inscription POSTAGE. The first stamps to be overprinted were those depicting King Edward VII, and after 1912 stamps depicting King George V were also similarly overprinted. Both sets exist with two different types of watermark each. In both the Edward VII and George V sets, high values were created by overprinting £1 postage stamps (the highest value available) with new values of £3, £5 or £10. [1] Overprinting ceased in 1927 and dual-purpose stamps were subsequently used for fiscal purposes once again. [2]

An Airport Departure Tax stamp was used in 1991. [2]

The first plans to introduce impressed duty stamps were made in late 1876, but it is unclear what became of the order. [3] Impressed stamps were in use by the 20th century, with recorded dates of use ranging from the 1930s to the 1970s. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Revenue stamps of Malta

Revenue stamps of Malta were first issued in 1899, when the islands were a British colony. From that year to 1912, all revenue issues were postage stamps overprinted accordingly, that was either done locally or by De La Rue in London. Postage stamps also became valid for fiscal use in 1913, so no new revenues were issued until 1926–30, when a series of key type stamps depicting King George V were issued. These exist unappropriated for use as general-duty revenues, or with additional inscriptions indicating a specific use; Applications, Contracts, Registers or Stocks & Shares. The only other revenues after this series were £1 stamps depicting George VI and Elizabeth II. Postage stamps remained valid for fiscal use until at least the 1980s.

Revenue stamps of the United Kingdom

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.

Revenue stamps of Cyprus

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.

Revenue stamps of Transvaal

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 the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope issued revenue stamps from 1864 to 1961. There were a number of different stamps for several taxes.

Revenue stamps of New Zealand

New Zealand first issued revenue stamps on 1 January 1867 and their general use continued until the early 1950s. The only Revenue Stamp series still in use today is the Game Bird Habitat stamp which is used for payment of the Gun License for the duck shooting season which begins the first weekend of May. There were various types of fiscal stamps for different taxes.

Revenue stamps of Kenya

Kenya, formerly known as British East Africa issued revenue stamps since 1891. There were numerous types of revenue stamps for a variety of taxes and fees. Also valid for fiscal use in Kenya were postage stamps issued by the following entities:

Revenue stamps of Jamaica

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

Revenue stamps of Hong Kong

Hong Kong issued revenue stamps from 1867 to the 1990s, both when it was a British colony as well as when it was under Japanese occupation.

Revenue stamps of Malaysia

Malaysia first issued revenue stamps as the Straits Settlements in 1863, and continues to do so to this day. Over the years, a number of entities in modern Malaysia have issued revenue stamps.

Revenue stamps of the Malay States

Over the years various Malay States issued their own revenue stamps. Now most states use Malaysian revenue stamps, except for Singapore which is independent and no longer uses revenue stamps.

Revenue stamps of the Isle of Man

Revenue stamps of the Isle of Man refer to the adhesive revenue or fiscal stamps which were issued by the British Crown dependency of the Isle of Man between 1889 and 1976. British key type revenue stamps with an appropriate inscription were issued on the island until 1966, when revenue stamps showing various scenes and symbols of the island began to be issued. The last set of stamps was issued in 1976. From around 1920 to the 1970s, hundreds of contribution stamps were issued for National Insurance and related schemes.

Revenue stamps of Uganda

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.

Few revenue stamps of Nigeria and its predecessor states have been issued, since most of the time dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps were used for fiscal purposes. The first revenue-only stamps were consular stamps of the Niger Coast Protectorate and the Southern Nigeria Protectorate, which were created by overprinting postage stamps in 1898 and 1902 respectively. The Northern Nigeria Protectorate did not issue any specific revenue stamps, but a £25 stamp of 1904 could not be used for postal purposes due to its extremely high face value.

Revenue stamps of the Gold Coast were issued by the British Colony of the Gold Coast between 1899 and the early 20th century. Dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps were used for most fiscal transactions, so few revenue stamps were issued.

Revenue stamps of British Somaliland refer to the adhesive revenue or fiscal stamps which were issued by British Somaliland, a British protectorate in present-day Somaliland, between 1900 and 1904. All Somaliland fiscals were revenue stamps of India overprinted BRITISH SOMALILAND.

Postage and revenue stamp

A postage and revenue stamp, sometimes also called a dual-purpose stamp, is a stamp which is equally valid for use as a postage stamp and as a revenue stamp. They often but not always bear an inscription such as "Postage and Revenue". Dual-purpose stamps were common in the United Kingdom and the British Empire during the 19th and 20th centuries, and they are still used in some countries as of the early 21st century.

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.

Revenue stamps of Dominica were first issued in 1877, when the island was under British rule. Dominica issued very few revenue stamps, but dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps were widely used for fiscal purposes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Barefoot, John (2012). British Commonwealth Revenues (9 ed.). York: J. Barefoot Ltd. p. 154. ISBN   0906845726.
  2. 1 2 3 4 McClellan, Andrew (2020). "Fiji". Revenue Reverend. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 Elsmore, Dave (April 2012). "Fiji: The 1880 Queen Victoria Revenue Issue" (PDF). The Informer. Society of Australasian Specialists/Oceania. 76 (2): 29, 31–33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2017.