STAMP (AMENDMENT NO. 2) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

4.53 p.m.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance (Mr S. Ramaswamy): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Stamp (Amendment No. 2) Bill provides that the Commissioner of Stamps may refund any stamp duty which was overpaid provided that a claim is lodged with the Commissioner within six months from the date of overpayment. The Commissioner is given discretion to entertain a claim which is made later than six months after the date of overpayment if he is satisfied that the circumstances are exceptional. Provision is also made to enable the Commissioner to demand repayment of any duty which may have been erroneously refunded.

You will recall, Mr Speaker, Sir, that under the Stamp (Amendment) Ordinance, 1961 (No. 24 of 1961), the annual duty payable on a Certificate to Practice which is required to be taken out by every practising advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court was raised from $50 to $500 per annum with effect from 1st January, 1961.

Clause 3 of the Bill reduces this duty from $500 to the original $50 with effect from the same date, namely, 1st January, 1961. This is in accordance with the Government's policy not to levy new, nor to increase existing, fees on professional persons in private practice, as announced by the Minister for Finance in his Budget Speech in December last year.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Ramaswamy].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr SPEAKER in the Chair]

4.56 p.m.

Clause 1 -

The Chairman: There are amendments which will be made as a matter of course. The "No. 2" will be deleted in line 5 and the figure "1961" will be altered to read "1962".

Clause 1, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 2 and 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported with amendments; read a Third time and passed.