Acknowledgement of Debt

स्टाम्प ड्यूटी

An acknowledgement is a distinct, low article in Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (Article 1) — but only where it records the debt WITHOUT any promise to pay it and without a stipulation for interest, kept in the creditor's own book or on a paper left in the creditor's possession. This document is not that: it fixes repayment terms and, where limitation has already expired, exists specifically to record a promise to pay under s.25(3) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. It is therefore drafted, and should be stamped, as an agreement rather than a bare Article 1 acknowledgement. PUNJAB: stamp as an agreement under Article 5, Schedule I-A to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as applicable in Punjab. Where the agreement does not fall under a more specific sub-clause of Article 5, the residuary rate under Article 5(c) is the one to ask for; confirm the current figure and the correct sub-clause with the Sub-Registrar or against the Department of Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management's published stamp duty table at revenue.punjab.gov.in before the stamp is bought, because the acknowledged amount and the interest and repayment terms fixed by this document can affect which sub-clause applies. E-stamp through the Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL) in the Debtor's or Creditor's name, dated on or before the date of execution. CHANDIGARH: the same residuary agreement article applies under the Chandigarh Administration's own Rates of Stamp Duty & Registration Fees table at revenue.chd.gov.in; confirm the current figure at the Sub-Registrar's office, 30 Bays Building, before the stamp is bought. BOTH: this is a low-value stamp either way, and the cost of getting it wrong is not the money — it is that an insufficiently stamped instrument is inadmissible in evidence under s.35 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 until the deficiency and any penalty are paid, which is exactly the evidence this document exists to preserve. Buy the stamp in advance of signing; an acknowledgement executed on plain paper and stamped afterwards remains provable once the deficiency is made good, but do not rely on that route deliberately.

रजिस्ट्री

Not compulsorily registrable. s.17 of the Registration Act, 1908 reaches instruments that create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish a right, title or interest in immovable property, or certain other specified instruments; a personal acknowledgement of a money debt does none of that, and is not on the s.17 list. Optional registration under s.18 of that Act is available in both Punjab and Chandigarh but is rarely used for a document of this kind and adds nothing to its enforceability, which rests on proper stamping, a clear signature, and — critically — the date on which it was signed.

नोटरी

Not legally required, but the single most useful step available for this document, because everything here turns on one date. s.18 of the Limitation Act, 1963 only extends limitation if the acknowledgement is made BEFORE the original period expires; a dispute about whether it was signed on the date it bears, or later, is a dispute about whether the whole document does anything at all. Have it notarised by a Notary Public, or presented before an Oath Commissioner, on or immediately after the date of signing, so the date is independently fixed. Notarisation does not cure a stamp shortfall and does not itself prove the debt — it fixes the date.

गवाह

Not legally required by s.18 of the Limitation Act, 1963 or by s.25(3) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, both of which ask only for a signed writing. Two witnesses are nonetheless recommended, because a dispute over an acknowledgement of debt is usually a dispute about whether the Debtor really signed it and when — the same reason notarisation is recommended above.