The Post Office Act, 2023 was passed by the Indian government with the intention of updating the country’s laws pertaining to stamp duty and postal services. The new law, which went into effect Wednesday, intends to improve living conditions by streamlining the provision of citizen-centric services and bringing government benefits to even the most remote areas of the nation.
On August 10, 2023, the Post Office Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, and on December 4, 2023, it was passed. The Lok Sabha then took up and approved the Bill on December 13, 2023, and December 18, 2023.
Receiving the President’s assent on 24 December 2023, the Act was published in the Gazette of India on the same day by the Ministry of Law & Justice (Legislative Department) for general information.
“The Act aims to create a simple legislative framework for delivery of citizen centric services, banking services and benefits of Government schemes at the last mile. The Act does away with provisions such as the exclusive privilege of collecting, processing and delivering of letters, to enhance the ease of doing business and ease of living,” the Ministry of Communications stated.
“No penal provisions have been prescribed in the Act. This provides a framework for prescribing standards for addressing of the items, address identifiers and usage of postcodes,” it added.
The Post Office Act, 2023 repeals the Indian Post Office Act, 1898.
In addition, the Centre has suggested that the new Indian Stamp Bill, 2023, take the place of the current India Stamp Act, 1899. As part of the pre-legislative consultation process, the Union Government released the draft “Indian Stamp Bill, 2023” on January 17 and asked the public to provide comments on it using a pre-approved proforma within 30 days.
To bring the Indian stamp duty system into line with current practices, the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, has drafted the “Indian Stamp Bill, 2023.”
The aforementioned measure is anticipated to introduce provisions for “digital e-stamping,” which will largely open the door for a contemporary stamp duty system. By eliminating the colonial statute, the proposed Bill is anticipated to make doing business easier and raise government revenue.
