673258-1884-Ordinances-passed-15-and-16-of-1884- — Page 3

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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 24 MAY, ISSI.

Penalties for frawls.

(12 of 1×66, 8. 14 and 27.3

Excention ont of Colony.

(See 12 of 1966,

. 11.)

Instamped documents not received in evidence. (12 of 1866, s. 15.)

Court may order to be Biamped with- in certain limits.

(See 12 of 1866, B. 18).

Stamping after execu• Lion.

(12 of 15tif, *. 19.)

(12 of 1965,

22 and 19.)

(12 of 1866, 8. 16.)

(Zhp?, clause 8, and 3 of 196A, *. 1.)

Adjudication

(12 of 1×66, 6. 20.)

7. Every person who commits any of the following offences shall, on Suminary eonviction thereof before a Magistrate, be liable to a penalty not execeding five hundred dollars, that is to say :--

1. Drawing any bill of exchange purporting to be drawn in a set of two or more without drawing on duly stamped material the whole number of bills constituting such set.

2. Knowingly and wilfully excenting any document charged under the Sebedule with ad valorem duty, in which the consideration money or amount in- volved is not truly expressed and set forth, with intent to avoid full payment of Stamp duty, or knowingly and wilfully inserting or setting forth or procuring to be inserted or set forth in such document a less amount than the full and true consideration money or amount involved.

Execution out of the Colony.

8. All documents whatever executed out of the Colony shall, when brought into force or registered within the Colony, be liable to the same rates of Stamp duty as if t'rey had been executed within the Colony.

Reception in evidence,

9. Except as otherwise provided by this Ordinance, no document liable to Stamp Duty under this Ordinance shall be received as creating, transferring, or extinguishing any right or obligation, or as evidence in any civil proceeding in any Court of Justice in the Colony, or shall be acted upon, registered, or authenticated in any such Court or Public or other Office or by any Public Officer unless such document be stamped according to this Ordinance or in accordance with the law in force in the Colony at the time it was executed. Provided that whatever powers are vested by this Ordinance in the Collector as to stamping after execution may be exercised within the limits of such powers by any Civil Court, which may direct the Collector to stamp and receive the duty and penalty, if any, upon any document which might otherwise have been stamped by him in the exercise of such powers. Such duty and penalty shall be paid into Court, and shall be remitted to the Collector with the document to be stamped after the docu- ment has been admitted in evidence.

Stamping after execution.

10. The Collector of Stamp Duty may stamp documents after execution in cases where he or the Court ordering such stamping shall be satisfied that the omission or neglect to stamp or to stamp sufficiently did not arise from any iuten- tion to evade payment of Stamp Duty or otherwise to do- fraud, subject to the following rules :-

1. Agreements by letter may be stamped at any timo

within one month after execution.

3.

2. Bills of exchange and promissory notes exccuted in · ́

the Colony shall not be stamped after execution. Documents executed out of the Colony shall he stamped when they are received in the Colony if they have not been previously stamped according to this Ordinance.

4. In all other cases of stamping after execution there shall be charged as a penalty, if within one month' of execution double, if within two months ten times, if after two months twenty times the deficient duty. 5. If the Collector be satisfied that the omission or neglect to stamp arose solely from urgent neces- sity or unavoidable accident, he shall remit the penalty prescribed by this section. He may re- quire sworn or other evidence as to the circum- stances at his discretion.

Adjudication.

11. Whenever any person is in doubt respecting the proper amount of Stamp Duty payable upon any docu- ment, he may apply to the Collector for an adjudication on such document, at the same time depositing a fee of one dollar, wherein the Collector shall determine the amount of duty to which such document is liable, and on payment thereof shall impress the document with stamps to that amount, also with an additional stamp denoting that the adjudication fee has been paid. And any document bearing the said adjudication fee stamp shall be received in evidence in any Court or registered by any publie officer as properly stamped, and shall be regarded as properly stamped for any purpose whatever,