Indian Stamp Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1899
Section 78 of Indian Stamp Act: Repeal of enactments
Official Bare Act Text
Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary
Every local authority shall, out of the fees collected by it, pay to the State Government such portion of duty as may be prescribed.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 78
Section 78 formally repeals the predecessor Indian Stamp Act of 1879, incorporating the general principles of statutory savings under Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 to protect rights, privileges, liabilities, and past transactions executed under the repealed law.
Formal Repeal of Predecessor Legislation: Formally repeals the Indian Stamp Act, 1879 (Act 1 of 1879) and earlier colonial stamp enactments specified in the Eighth Schedule.
Preservation of Accrued Rights and Liabilities: Governed by Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897; preserves rights accrued, liabilities incurred, and instruments executed prior to July 1, 1899 under the 1879 enactment.
Applicable Stamp Law at Execution Date: Enforces the bedrock principle of stamp jurisprudence that the sufficiency of stamp duty on any instrument must be tested strictly according to the law in force at the date of its execution.
Non-Revival of Earlier Repealed Enactments: The repeal does not revive any statute, rule, or custom not in force or existing at the time the 1899 Act came into operation.
Key Landmark Precedents:
State of Punjab v. Mohar Singh, AIR 1955 SC 84: A 5-Judge Constitution Bench established the authoritative doctrine on repeal and savings under Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, holding that repeal does not destroy substantive rights or past transactions unless an express contrary intention appears.
Kolhapur Canesugar Mills Ltd. v. Union of India, (2000) 2 SCC 536: A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held that the repeal of an enactment without a savings clause obliterates the statute from the statute book except as to transactions past and closed, which are preserved by general savings jurisprudence.
Bhopal Sugar Industries Ltd. v. Dube, AIR 1964 SC 1037: The Supreme Court affirmed that rights and obligations accrued under predecessor fiscal statutes remain enforceable in accordance with the law existing at the time of execution.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:
In property litigations concerning ancient ancestral trust deeds, waqf instruments, or grant sanads executed in the late 19th century, resist objections regarding stamp duty under the 1899 Act by invoking Section 78 r/w Section 6 of the General Clauses Act. The validity and sufficiency of stamp duty on an instrument must be adjudicated strictly according to the rates and rules of the 1879 Act in force on the date of execution, not modern schedules.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 78
Section 78 formally repeals the predecessor Indian Stamp Act of 1879, incorporating the general principles of statutory savings under Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 to protect rights, privileges, liabilities, and past transactions executed under the repealed law.
In property litigations concerning ancient ancestral trust deeds, waqf instruments, or grant sanads executed in the late 19th century, resist objections regarding stamp duty under the 1899 Act by invoking Section 78 r/w Section 6 of the General Clauses Act. The validity and sufficiency of stamp duty on an instrument must be adjudicated strictly according to the rates and rules of the 1879 Act in force on the date of execution, not modern schedules.