Section 6 of Stamp Duty Act CAP 480: Time of stamping and liability for stamping

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act or of any other written law, every instrument, unless it is written on duly stamped material, shall be duly stamped with the proper duty before the expiration of thirty days after it is first executed, or after it has been first received in Kenya in case it is first executed at any place out of Kenya, unless the opinion of a collector with respect to the amount of duty with which the instrument is chargeable has, before the expiration of that period, been required under section 17.
(2) If the opinion of a Collector with respect to the amount of duty with which any instrument is chargeable has been required under section 17, the instrument shall be stamped in accordance with the assessment of the collector within twenty-one days of the date of the notice of the assessment.
(3) Where in the Schedule or in any other written law it is specified that an instrument is to be stamped before execution, it shall be stamped before execution by any party thereto.
(4) If any instrument which is chargeable with stamp duty is not duly stamped, the person or persons respectively specified in the Schedule or in any other written law as being liable for stamping shall be liable, or jointly and severally liable, as the case may be, to the collector for the payment of the
specified duty.
(5) If any instrument which is liable to stamp duty is not duly stamped, every person specified in the Schedule or in any other written law as being responsible for stamping shall also be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand shillings.
(6) Where in the Schedule or in any other written law the responsibility for stamping is imposed upon more persons than one, every person on whom that responsibility is imposed may, if the instrument is not duly stamped, be proceeded against either civilly or criminally without reference to any civil
liability of the parties inter se for the payment of the stamp duty.

More Sections

Section 7 - Duties, how to be paid

Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, all duties with which any instruments are chargeable shall be paid, and payment shall be denoted upon the instruments, by means of stamps in such...

Section 8 - How instruments are to be written and stamped

(1) Every instrument written upon stamped material shall be written in such manner, and every instrument partly or wholly written before being stamped shall be so stamped, that the stamp may appear on...

Section 9 - Instruments to be separately charged in certain cases

(1) An instrument containing or relating to several distinct matters shall be separately and distinctly charged, as if it were a separate instrument, with duty in respect of each of the matters. (2)...

Section 10 - Facts and circumstances affecting duty to be set out in instruments

(1) All the facts and circumstances affecting the liability of any instrument to duty, or the amount of the duty with which any instrument is chargeable, shall be fully and truly set out in the...

Section 10A - Valuation by Government Valuer

(1) The Collector of Stamp Duties shall refer to the Chief Government Valuer or a registered and practicing valuer appointed by the Chief Government Valuer any conveyance or transfer on sale of any...

Section 11 - Mode of calculating ad valorem duty in certain cases

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), where an instrument is chargeable with ad valorem duty in respect of— (a) any money in any currency other than that of Kenya; or (b) any stock or...

Section 12 - Instruments to be in English

Every instrument chargeable with duty shall be written in the English language, or shall have annexed thereto a full and accurate translation thereof into the English language, certified to the...

Section 13 - General directions as to cancellations of adhesive stamps

(1) Where stamp duty is required or permitted by any written law to be denoted by an adhesive stamp, the stamp shall be cancelled in such manner as to render it incapable of being used again for any...

Section 14 - Defacement of adhesive stamps

Any person who by any writing in any manner defaces an adhesive stamp before it is used for the purpose of denoting stamp duty shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding two...

Section 15 - Penalty for frauds in relation to adhesive stamps

If any person— (a) fraudulently removes or causes to be removed from any instrument any adhesive stamp, or affixes to any other instrument or uses for any other purpose any adhesive stamp which has...

Section 16 - Denoting stamps

Where the duty with which an instrument is chargeable depends in any manner upon the duty paid upon another instrument, the payment of the last-mentioned duty shall, upon application to a collector...

Section 17 - Adjudication

(1) Subject to any regulations made under this Act, a collector may be required by any person, on payment by that person of a fee of one hundred shillings, to express his opinion with reference to any...

Section 18 - Persons dissatisfied may appeal

(1) Any person who is dissatisfied with the assessment of the collector may, within thirty days after the date of the assessment, and on payment of duty in conformity therewith, or on securing the...

Section 19 - Non-admissibility of unstamped instruments in evidence; and penalty

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section and to the provisions of sections 20 and 21, no instrument chargeable with stamp duty shall be received in evidence in any proceedings...

Section 20 - Stamping out of time

(1) Where an instrument is chargeable with stamp duty under this Act and should have been stamped before a certain event or before the expiration of a certain period, but has not been so stamped, a...

Section 21 - Certain improperly stamped instruments

Subject to the provisions of this Act, where an instrument bears a stamp of sufficient amount but of improper description, it may, on payment of the duty with which it is chargeable and of a penalty...

Section 22 - Effect of non-compliance in case of certain bills of exchange

Notwithstanding any written law to the contrary, a bill of exchange which is presented for acceptance, or accepted, or payable, outside Kenya, or a cheque, whether presented for acceptance, or...

Section 23 - Instruments executed out of Kenya

Every instrument executed out of Kenya by any person, not being a bill of exchange or a promissory note, shall, before being used, brought into force or registered, within Kenya, be stamped according...

Section 24 - Refund where instrument erroneously assessed

If the Senior Collector of Stamp Duties is satisfied that an instrument has been erroneously assessed with duty or penalty, he may, if application for a refund is made at any time within one year...

Section 25 - Splitting

(1) Where any minimum amount is prescribed below which stamp duty shall not be payable, no person shall execute more instruments than would ordinarily be necessary for the transaction in question in...

Section 26 - Penalty for evasion of duty by splitting

Any person executing an instrument in contravention of the provisions of section 25 shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings.

Section 27 - Instruments reserving interest

Where interest or Islamic finance return is expressly made payable by the terms of an instrument, the instrument shall not be chargeable with duty higher than that with which it would have been...

Section 28 - Stamp where value of subject-matter is indeterminate

Where the amount or value of the subject-matter of any instrument chargeable with ad valorem duty cannot be, or (in the case of an instrument executed before the commencement of this Act) could not...

Section 29 - Recovery of duty and penalties

(1) All duties, penalties and other sums required to be paid by way of or in connexion with stamp duty under this Act or any other written law may be recovered by a collector as a civil debt...

Section 30 - Certain mortgages of stock to be chargeable as agreements

(1) Every instrument under hand only (not being a promissory note or bill of exchange) given upon the occasion of a deposit of any share warrant or stock certificate to bearer, or Commonwealth or...

Section 32 - Meaning of "bill of exchange"

For the purposes of this Act, "bill of exchange" includes draft, order, cheque and letter of credit, and any other document or writing entitling or purporting to entitle any person, whether named...

Section 33 - Meaning of "promissory note"

(1) For the purposes of this Act, "promissory note" includes any document or writing containing a promise to pay any sum of money. (2) A note promising the payment of any sum of money out of any...

Section 34 - Provisions as to stamping foreign bills and notes

(1) A person into whose hands a bill of exchange or promissory note drawn or made out of Kenya comes into Kenya before it is stamped shall, before he presents for payment, or endorses, transfers or in...

Section 35 - As to bills and notes purporting to be drawn abroad

A bill of exchange or promissory note which purports to be drawn or made out of Kenya shall, for the purpose of determining the mode in which the stamp duty thereon is to be denoted, be deemed to have...

Section 36 - Penalty for issuing, etc., any unstamped bill or note

(1) Every person who issues, endorses, transfers, negotiates, presents for payment or pays a bill of exchange or promissory note liable to duty and not being duly stamped shall be guilty of an offence...

Section 37 - One bill only of a set need be stamped

Where a bill of exchange is drawn in a set according to the custom of merchants, and one of the set is duly stamped, the other or others of the set shall, unless issued or in some manner negotiated...

Section 39 - Charge of duty on capital of companies

A statement of the amount which is to form the nominal share capital of any company to be registered with limited liability shall be delivered to the Registrar of Companies and a statement of the...

Section 40 - Provision as to contract notes

(1) For the purposes of this Act, "contract note" means the note sent by a broker or agent to his principal, or by any person who by way of business deals, or holds himself out as dealing, as a...

Section 41 - Obligation to execute contract notes

(1) Any person who effects any sale or purchase of any stock or marketable security as a broker or agent, and any person who by way of business deals, or holds himself out as dealing, as a principal...

Section 42 - Extension of provisions as to contract notes to sale or purchase of options

(1) The provisions of this Act as to contract notes shall apply to any contract under which an option is given or taken to purchase or sell any stock or marketable security at a future time at a...

Section 43 - Meaning of "conveyance on sale"

(1) For the purposes of this Act, "conveyance on sale" includes— (a) an instrument, and a decree or order of a court, whereby any property, or any estate or interest in property, upon the sale...

Section 44 - How ad valorem duty is to be calculated in respect of stock and securities

(1) Where the consideration, or any part of the consideration, for a conveyance on sale consists of any stock or marketable security, the conveyance shall be charged with ad valorem duty in respect of...

Section 45 - How consideration consisting of periodical payments to be charged

(1) Where the consideration, or any part of the consideration, for a conveyance on sale consists of money payable periodically for a definite period not exceeding twenty years, so that the total...

Section 46 - Conveyance on sale with further covenant

A conveyance on sale made for any consideration in respect whereof it is chargeable with ad valorem duty, and in further consideration of a covenant by the purchaser to make, or of his having...

Section 47 - How conveyance in consideration of a debt, etc., to be charged

Where any property is conveyed to any person in consideration, wholly or in part, of any debt due to him, or subject either certainly or contingently to the payment or transfer of any money or stock,...

Section 48 - Direction as to duty in certain cases of conveyances, mortgages and settlements

(1) Where property contracted to be sold for one consideration for the whole is conveyed to the purchaser in separate parts or parcels by different instruments, the consideration shall be apportioned...

Section 49 - Certain contracts to be chargeable as conveyances on sale

(1) Any agreement or memorandum of an agreement for the sale of any estate or interest in any property (except lands, tenements or hereditaments, or property locally situated out of Kenya, or goods,...

Section 50 - As to sale of an annuity or right not before in existence

(1) Where upon the sale of any annuity or other right not before in existence the annuity or other right is not created by actual grant or conveyance, but is only secured by bond, warrant of attorney,...

Section 51 - Principal instrument how to be ascertained

The parties may determine for themselves which of several instruments shall be deemed to be the principal instrument and may pay the ad valorem duty thereon accordingly: Provided that the duty...

Section 52 - Duty on gifts inter vivos

(1) Any conveyance or transfer operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos shall be chargeable with stamp duty as if it were a conveyance or transfer on sale, with the substitution in each case...

Section 53 - What is to be deemed a conveyance on any occasion not being a sale or mortgage

Every instrument, and every decree or order of any court, whereby any property on any occasion, except a sale or mortgage, is transferred to or vested in any person, shall be charged with duty as a...

Section 54 - Provision as to duplicates and counterparts

The duplicate or counterpart of an instrument chargeable with duty shall not be deemed to be duly stamped unless it is stamped as an original instrument, or unless it appears by some stamp impressed...

Section 55 - Agreements to be charged as leases

(1) An agreement for a lease, or in respect of any letting, shall be charged with the same duty as if it were an actual lease made for the term and consideration mentioned in the agreement. (2) A...

Section 56 - Duty on leases where consideration consists of rent

Every lease shall, so far as the consideration therefor consists of rent, whether reserved as a yearly rent or otherwise, be charged with duty in accordance with the heading Lease in the Schedule.

Section 57 - Duty on leases in other cases

A lease shall, so far as the consideration therefor consists of any premium or other consideration whatsoever other than rent, moving either to the lessor or to any other person, be charged with ad...

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