Sections 66-68 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.
Sections 66, 67 and 68 sit in Chapter VII of the Act, which deals with criminal offences and procedure. Between them they punish three kinds of conduct: leaving an insurance policy unstamped or unmade, drawing only part of a set of bills or marine policies on stamped paper, and post-dating a bill or note (or using some other device) to defraud the Government of duty. Each section ends in a fine, and the fines are stated in old and small rupee amounts.
Section 66 punishes a person who takes a premium for insurance and does not make out a duly stamped policy within one month, or who makes, executes or delivers out a policy that is not duly stamped. Section 67 punishes drawing a bill of exchange payable otherwise than on demand, or a marine policy, in a set without stamping the whole set. Section 68 punishes post-dating a bill or note with intent to defraud the Government of duty, and knowingly dealing with such a bill or note. The fines are two hundred rupees under section 66 and one thousand rupees under sections 67 and 68, as the central text prints them.
This article is based on 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 check that State's position; this article explains the central Act only.
Where these sections fit
The Act first says which instruments are chargeable and what they pay, then how stamping is done, then what happens to an instrument that is not duly stamped, and finally, in Chapter VII, which acts are offences. Sections 62 to 65 cover other breaches, such as executing an instrument that is not duly stamped (see our article on section 62 of the Indian Stamp Act). Sections 66 to 68 are the ones aimed at insurance, bills in sets and post-dated paper. If you work with insurance, trade bills or lending documents, they tell you where the Act draws a line between a stamping mistake and an offence.
A business that wants its commercial paper reviewed before it is signed can speak to our team through our legal consultation service.
Section 66: policy not made out, or made out without proper stamps
Section 66 is headed "Penalty for not making out policy or making one not duly stamped". It applies to "any person who" does either of two things.
Clause (a). The person receives, or takes credit for, any premium or consideration for any contract of insurance, and does not, within one month after receiving or taking credit for it, make out and execute a duly stamped policy of that insurance. Two points follow from the words. The one-month period runs from the receipt of the premium or consideration, or from the point at which credit is taken for it. And the policy that has to be made out is a "duly stamped" one, so a policy made out within the month on paper that does not carry the proper duty does not satisfy the clause.
Clause (b). The person makes, executes or delivers out any policy that is not duly stamped, or pays or allows in account, or agrees to pay or allow in account, any money upon or in respect of such a policy. This is wider than clause (a). It reaches the person who issues the defective policy, and also a person who pays or credits money on it or agrees to do so.
The punishment is a fine which may extend to two hundred rupees. The text prints "may extend", so the amount is a ceiling and not a fixed sum.
The policy of insurance has a meaning of its own in section 2 of the Act; see our article on the definitions of bill of exchange, promissory note, cheque and policy of insurance. The duties on policies are in Article 47 of Schedule I, which is covered in the last link under "Read next".
Section 67: bills and marine policies drawn in sets
Some bills of exchange and marine policies are drawn or executed "in a set of two or more". Section 67 says that any person drawing or executing a bill of exchange payable otherwise than on demand, or a policy of marine insurance, purporting to be drawn or executed in such a set, and not at the same time drawing or executing on paper duly stamped the whole number of bills or policies that the instrument purports the set to consist of, is punishable with a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
Three details matter:
- The words "payable otherwise than on demand" were inserted into the section, and the footnote in the copy consulted attributes this to Act 5 of 1927, s. 5. A bill of exchange payable on demand is therefore not the subject of this section as it now reads.
- The test is the "whole number" the set purports to consist of. If the instrument says it is one of three, all three have to be drawn or executed on duly stamped paper, and at the same time.
- The section punishes the person drawing or executing. It does not by its own words reach a later holder.
For the practice of drawing bills in sets under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, see our article on sections 132 and 133 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881; nothing in this article depends on it.
Section 68: post-dating and other devices to defraud the revenue
Section 68 has three clauses, and every one of them turns on knowledge or intent.
| Clause | Who | What the section prints |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | A person who, with intent to defraud the Government of duty, draws, makes or issues a bill of exchange or promissory note | The bill or note bears a date later than the date on which it is actually drawn or made |
| (b) | A person who knows that the bill or note has been so post-dated | Endorses, transfers, presents for acceptance or payment, or accepts, pays or receives payment of the bill or note, or in any manner negotiates it |
| (c) | A person acting with the like intent | Practises or is concerned in any act, contrivance or device not specially provided for by the Act or any other law for the time being in force |
The punishment for all three clauses is a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
Clause (a) needs two things together: a later date than the actual date, and an intent to defraud the Government of duty. A bill dated forward for an ordinary commercial reason, with no such intent, does not fit the clause as written. Clause (b) is aimed at those who deal with the bill or note afterwards, and it requires that they know of the post-dating. Clause (c) is the catch-all: it covers any other act, contrivance or device used with the like intent, but only where the Act or another law does not make specific provision for it.
One printing slip is worth noting. Clause (b) ends "or in any manner negotiate the same"; the verb is printed in the base form where the grammar calls for "negotiates". We quote it as printed.
Section 47 of the Stamp Act separately deals with a payer stamping a bill or note and charging the duty; it is not part of these three sections.
Examples with invented names
A set of bills. Mehta Exports draws a bill of exchange payable ninety days after sight, marked as the first of a set of three, and stamps only the first copy. The other two are drawn later on plain paper. Section 67 asks whether the whole number of bills the instrument purports the set to consist of were drawn at the same time on duly stamped paper. Here they were not, so the drawer is exposed to the fine of up to one thousand rupees.
An insurance premium. A broker, Iqbal Associates, receives a premium on 3 May for a property cover and issues the policy on 20 June on paper that is not duly stamped. Under clause (a) the month ran from receipt of the premium, and under clause (b) a policy that is not duly stamped has been delivered out. The ceiling is two hundred rupees under section 66.
A post-dated note. A borrower signs a promissory note on 2 February but dates it 2 April, intending to reduce the duty. Section 68(a) can apply if the intent to defraud the Government of duty is shown. A lender who knowingly presents it for payment is within clause (b). If no such intent exists, the clause does not apply on its words.
What the text does not say
The copy consulted does not say how a prosecution is begun, in which court, or whether the offence may be compounded; those matters are in sections 70 to 72. Our article on sections 70 to 72 covers them. The fines printed here are the amounts in the central text; the reader should check whether the State where the instrument is executed has its own amounts. This article neither converts nor updates them.
Need help with insurance, bill or note documents?
If you need a policy schedule, a set of bills or a promissory note checked before it is executed, our team can read the paper with you under our legal consultation service. The aim is to find a stamping or dating problem while it can still be put right.
Key takeaways
- Section 66: one month to make out a duly stamped policy after taking the premium; a policy not duly stamped is itself an offence; fine up to two hundred rupees.
- Section 67: a bill payable otherwise than on demand, or a marine policy, drawn in a set must be drawn at the same time on duly stamped paper for the whole set; fine up to one thousand rupees.
- Section 68: post-dating with intent to defraud the Government of duty, knowingly dealing with such a bill or note, and other devices; fine up to one thousand rupees.
- Intent matters in section 68; the section does not punish an ordinary forward date.
- The central text sets a ceiling on each fine ("may extend to"), not a fixed sum.
Read next
- Section 62 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899: penalty for executing an instrument not duly stamped
- Sections 47 and 48: payer stamping unstamped bills and recovery of duties and penalties
- Article 47 of Schedule I: policy of insurance
- Stamp duty on promissory note and bill of exchange
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.