Vijayawada: Sale of stamp papers in black rampant

Vijayawada: Despite the government's assurance about improving transparency in the sale of stamps, middle men continue to encash  from the sale of these valuable papers in black at  a higher cost. Many stamp vendors and document writers in the city are continuing this illegal transaction even after raids by the Vigilance and Enforcement wing  on stamp vendors in Gandhinagar.

Stamp papers, which are essential while writing agreements for sale of properties and services,  are being diverted to the black market due to the absence of monitoring by the officials of the stamps and registrations department. Stamp papers which are to be sold in the registrar’s offices and by licensed vendors after taking the details of buyer are sold at higher rates without taking any details, when sold in black.

Consumers are forced to buy stamp papers from licensed stamp vendors at a higher cost. “Buying stamp papers from the registrar’s office involves a lengthy process where brokers play a key role. We are buying them from document writers at higher cost to avoid the lengthy process,” revealed P. Narayana Murthy, a retired employee. Many stationery marts at Gandhinagar and Patamata sell stamp papers without any licences while a few stores even sell old-dated stamp papers, that is illegal, at 300 per cent excess price.

“Selling stamp and documents of earlier dates is a serious crime and tampering of special code by some stamp vendors was noticed. Sellers should take valid details of the buyer before selling the stamps and enter it in register. It is a serious offence to sell stamp papers in stores without valid vendor licence and we will act firm on this,” said district Registrar, Vijayawada, G. Srinivasa Rao.