One has to shed an extra amount for stamp paper of any denomination in Nagpur. The stamp vendors right in the premises of the Nagpur collectorate compound are charging about 10 percent extra on every stamp paper sold by them.
The person buying a stamp paper of Rs 100 has to pay Rs 110 and Rs 550 for a stamp paper of Rs 500 denomination.
The extra charges are not for any justified reason. The entry in the register maintained by the stamp vendors is only for the amount for which the stamp paper is sold. The additional 10 per cent has no valid account.
The stamp vendors create an artificial shortage of stamp papers, particularly when the students need them for admission to different institutions or for caste-based claims, or income certificates. The stamp vendors also ‘help’ the buyers in getting the desired certificates through agents/brokers. The person willing to get any kind of certificate is not at all required to appear before the magistrate.
Besides the students, those buying properties are also required to buy stamp papers. The gullible buyers pay extra money ‘happily’ to avoid frequenting the office concerned, as the procedure is delayed if the person refuses to go through the agents.
The agents at almost all government offices have become a part of the system, let it be Collector’s office, RTO, City Survey office, Provident Fund office or others.