E-stamping gaining traction among state governments in India

Stock Holding Corporation Of India Ltd. (SHCIL) has been chosen as the central monitoring agency for e-stamping in India. E-stamping in India is a new phenomenon, which makes India the third country in the world after Singapore and Hong Kong.

Following the central government's successful initiatives of e-payments of tax deduction at source (TDS),  tax collection at source (TCS), income tax, corporation tax, service tax, security transaction tax, estate duty, wealth tax, etc., the state governments across the country are trying their best to make some of its processes of tax and duty collections easier, tamper-proof and accessible.

E-stamping is one such initiative that has gained traction among several state governments. The traditional stamp duty payment systems perhaps have been one of the contentious issues as the physical stamp paper has bred multiple scams and cases of misuse.

E-stamping is a major e-governance initiative in the country, with the states of Delhi and Gujarat becoming the first in introducing a paperless e-stamping system that replaces physical stamp paper.

Impressed by the successful implementation, other states including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Assam have deployed an e-stamping system.
The central government has appointed Stock Holding to act as a sole central record keeping agency to administer e-stamping through a network of authorised collection centres.

As a central record keeping agency, SHCIL is responsible for overall e-stamping operations and maintenance. The authorised collection centres is responsible for collecting stamp duty and remit the same to the respective state government treasury within prescribed timelines.