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Publications and Press Releases :
Press Release
: News Archives
New e-Stamping Service launched today
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The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) today (August
2) launched a new e-Stamping service for tenancy agreements, agreements
for sale and assignments of landed properties (property documents).
People can now submit a stamping application, make payment of stamp
duty and obtain a stamp certificate in respect of the property documents
via the Internet at ESD website (www.esd.gov.hk).
An IRD spokesman said stamping was traditionally a manual process
with the imprinting of a stamp on an original instrument. It is
comparatively costly and time consuming.
"To improve efficiency, IRD is offering an electronic stamping
service to the public which provides a more convenient and faster
alternative to the traditional manual stamping service," the
spokesman said.
"E-stamping is very safe. End-to-end encryption methodology
is adopted to ensure data security and secrecy in the course of
transmission to IRD."
Applicants may submit stamping applications for property documents
via the Internet instead of delivering the original instruments
in person to IRD. Instant stamping is now possible after online
payment of stamp duty. For tenancy agreements, the relevant statutory
notification to the Rating and Valuation Department can also be
submitted online in one go.
To facilitate concurrent use of e-Stamping service by staff of bulk
users (e.g. solicitor firms, property agency companies etc.), they
can apply for E-Stamp Accounts free of charge as a new means of
authentication. The application form for E-Stamp account can be
downloaded from IRD website (www.ird.gov.hk).
For individuals, they can use their Taxpayer Identification Number
and Password for authentication when using the new service. Digital
certificates are also acceptable.
The Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2003, which introduces the
electronic mode of stamping, was passed by the Legislative Council
in June, 2003, and comes into operation today. An instrument is
properly stamped if a stamp certificate has been issued in respect
of it. A stamp certificate has the same legal status as a conventional
stamp.
Details of the new service are available at IRD website (www.ird.gov.hk).
Ends/Monday, August 2, 2004
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