Sections 30 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Three sections of the Act deal with receipts. Section 30 obliges a person who receives money or other property above a stated amount to give a duly stamped receipt when asked. Section 34 gives an audit officer a way of dealing with an unstamped receipt, and section 65 fines a person who refuses to give a receipt or who devises a way around the duty.
Under section 30, a person receiving money, or a bill of exchange, cheque or promissory note, exceeding twenty rupees in amount, or movable property in part or full satisfaction of a debt exceeding twenty rupees in value, must on demand give a duly stamped receipt. A person receiving a fire-insurance renewal premium must give one within one month. Section 34 lets an audit officer require a stamped receipt to be substituted instead of impounding. Section 65 punishes refusal, or splitting a payment to avoid duty, with a fine which may extend to one hundred rupees.
How these sections are read here
This article follows the consolidated text of the Act consulted (latest amendment shown: Act 13 of 2021); later amendments should be checked. Stamp duty on most instruments is fixed by the law and schedule of the State where the instrument is executed, so the State of execution must be checked. This article explains the central Act only. Receipts are one of the instruments named in section 9(2)(a), and the duty on a receipt is the rate that the central Schedule prints; that is covered below. The amounts of twenty rupees, one hundred rupees and ten naye paise are quoted exactly as printed. If you are unsure whether a receipt in your business needs a stamp, our legal consultation service can look at the document.
"Receipt" has the meaning given in section 2(23), which the article on definitions of conveyance, bond, lease, mortgage-deed and receipt sets out.
Section 30: the duty to give a stamped receipt
First paragraph: money, bills, cheques, notes and property
Section 30 applies to "any person receiving" any of the following:
- any money exceeding twenty rupees in amount;
- any bill of exchange, cheque or promissory note for an amount exceeding twenty rupees; or
- movable property exceeding twenty rupees in value, received in satisfaction or part satisfaction of a debt.
That person "shall, on demand by the person paying or delivering such money, bill, cheque, note or property, give a duly stamped receipt for the same". Three features stand out.
- The duty arises on demand. If the payer does not ask, the first paragraph does not require the payee to volunteer a receipt.
- The demand comes from "the person paying or delivering". The payee cannot be made to give a receipt on the request of a stranger.
- The receipt must be duly stamped. A receipt without the required stamp does not satisfy the section.
Example. Sandeep Kulkarni pays a supplier, Meera Traders, a sum above twenty rupees in cash and asks for a receipt. Meera Traders must give a duly stamped receipt. If it refuses, section 65(a) applies.
Second paragraph: fire-insurance renewals
The second paragraph, added by Act 5 of 1906, s. 5 according to the footnote, applies to "any person receiving or taking credit for any premium or consideration for any renewal of any contract of fire-insurance". Such a person "shall, within one month after receiving or taking credit for such premium or consideration, give a duly stamped receipt for the same". Unlike the first paragraph, the second contains no words about a demand, so the one-month period runs from the receipt or the credit.
The duty on the receipt itself
Section 30 only says the receipt must be duly stamped. The duty is in Article 53 of Schedule I. The central Schedule prints: "RECEIPT for any money or other property the amount or value of which exceeds five thousand rupees" at "One rupee", with a list of exemptions. The footnotes say the figure of five thousand rupees was substituted by Act 23 of 2004, s. 117, for "five hundred rupees", and "One rupee" by Act 32 of 1994, s. 99, for "Twenty paise". A receipt is one of the instruments named in section 9(2)(a), so the rate is the one the central Schedule prints; any reduction or remission under section 9 and later amendments should be checked.
The copy therefore prints twenty rupees in sections 30 and 65 and five thousand rupees in Article 53. They are printed side by side and are not reconciled here. A reader should check the current text of each before relying on either figure. For Article 53 and its exemptions, see Article 53 of Schedule I.
| Provision | Amount printed | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Section 30, first paragraph | Twenty rupees | When a stamped receipt must be given on demand |
| Section 65(b) | Twenty rupees | The fine for giving a receipt for a smaller amount to avoid duty |
| Article 53 of Schedule I | "five thousand rupees" with duty of "One rupee" | The central Schedule's duty and exemptions for a receipt |
Section 34: an unstamped receipt in the audit of a public account
Section 34 is headed "Special provision as to unstamped receipts". It applies where a receipt "chargeable with a duty not exceeding ten nayepaise" is tendered to or produced before any officer unstamped in the course of the audit of any public account. The officer "may in his discretion, instead of impounding the instrument, require a duly stamped receipt to be substituted therefore". The word "therefore" is printed in the copy where "therefor" would be expected.
The point is the contrast with section 33, under which a person with authority to receive evidence, or in charge of a public office, must impound an instrument not duly stamped. Section 34 gives an audit officer the option of asking for a fresh stamped receipt instead. It is limited to the small receipts described and to audits of public accounts. It does not extend to an ordinary court or to receipts of a higher duty. For the impounding rule it departs from, see Section 33.
Section 35 and the effect on evidence
Where a person from whom a stamped receipt could have been demanded has given an unstamped one, proviso (b) to section 35 says the receipt, if admissible when stamped, "shall be admitted in evidence against him on payment of a penalty of one rupee by the person tendering it". This is separate from sections 30 and 34 and is dealt with in Section 35.
Section 65: the penalty
Section 65 is headed "Penalty for refusal to give receipt, and for devices to evade duty on receipts". It punishes any person who:
- (a) being required under section 30 to give a receipt, "refuses or neglects to give the same"; or
- (b) with intent to defraud the Government of any duty, upon a payment of money or delivery of property exceeding twenty rupees in amount or value, gives a receipt for an amount or value not exceeding twenty rupees, or "separates or divides the money or property paid or delivered".
The punishment is a fine "which may extend to one hundred rupees", quoted as printed.
Clause (a) turns on the section 30 duty. Clause (b) needs intent to defraud the Government, so it catches a deliberate split of a large payment into small receipts to stay under the threshold and does not catch an honest small payment.
Example. A landlord receives a payment above twenty rupees in one sum but issues three receipts, each for an amount not exceeding twenty rupees, with intent to defraud the Government of duty. Clause (b) applies to him.
Checklist for businesses
- Decide who in your business handles demands for receipts, since a demand triggers section 30.
- Issue one receipt for one payment; do not divide a payment to reduce the stamp.
- For fire-insurance renewal premiums, diarise the one-month period.
- Check the duty under the schedule applicable to receipts and the exemptions in Article 53.
Need help with receipts and stamping?
Receipt practice varies between businesses, and the safer course is to settle one written procedure. Our team can review your receipt format and stamping practice through our legal consultation service.
Key takeaways
- Section 30 requires a duly stamped receipt, on demand, for money, bills, cheques, notes or movable property in satisfaction of a debt exceeding twenty rupees as printed.
- A fire-insurance renewal premium needs a duly stamped receipt within one month, without any demand.
- Section 34 lets an audit officer, in his discretion, require a stamped receipt instead of impounding a small unstamped one.
- Section 65 fines refusal, or the splitting of a payment with intent to defraud the Government, up to one hundred rupees.
- Article 53 of Schedule I carries its own figures; sections 30 and 65 and Article 53 are not reconciled here.
Read next
- Section 31 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899: adjudication of proper stamp duty by the Collector
- Section 35 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899: instruments not duly stamped inadmissible in evidence
- Article 53 of Schedule I: receipt and its exemptions
- Consequences of not paying stamp duty
Disclaimer: Based on the consolidated text of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 published by the Department of Revenue, whose latest amendment shown is Act 13 of 2021, as consulted on 2 October 2026. Only the central text is covered: stamp duty on most instruments is fixed by the law and schedule of the State where the instrument is executed, and State amendments, rules, notifications and later amendments should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.