# An Act to impose duties on Promissory Notes and Bills of Exchange

* related portals: Acts of Parliament of Canada.
* sister projects: Wikidata item.

## Contents

An Act to impose duties on Promissory Notes and Bills of Exchange.
       Preamble.
       1. Duties imposed on Notes, Drafts and Bills.
             The duties.
       2. What shall be deemed instruments liable to duty.
       3. Exemptions from duty.
       4. How the duties shall be paid.
             Stamped paper.
             Adhesive stamps.
             Provision for cancelling adhesive stamps.
             Or date to be written on Stamp.
             Penalty for non-complience with this Act.
             Avoidance of Instrument.
       5. Stamped paper may be prepared and used.
       6. Or adhesive stamps.
       7. As to duty payable in Nova Scotia.
       8. Sale and distribution of stamps and stamped paper.
       9. Governor in Council may make further regulation, to provide for doubtful cases.
       10. By whom the stamps shall be affixed.
             Penalty in default and duty doubled.
       11. Penalty for not affixing the proper stamps.
             Exception in favor of subsequent parties : double duty to be paid.
             Presumption in suits for penalties.
       12. Provision in favor of innocent parties.
             Holder may pay duty without becoming a party.
       13. Penalty for affixing stamps already used.
       14. Penalty incurred on each instrument, tho' several be made on the same day, &c.
       15. Recovery of penalties.
       16. Punishment for forging stamps, or making or having instruments of forging.
             Offence to be within the lands relative to forgery.
       17. Duties to be withing the Revenue Act.
       18. No duty under certain Canadian Acts on notes &c., made &c., on or after 1st February, 1868.
             Acts to apply to notes, &c., made before that day.

## The Act

31 Victoria, c. 9
An Act to impose duties on Promissory Notes and Bills of Exchange.
[Assented to 21st December, 1867.]
| Preamble. | | HER Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows : |
| Duties imposed on Notes, Drafts and Bills. | 1. | Upon and in respect of every Promissory Note, Draft or Bill of Exchange, for an amount not less than twenty-five dollars, made, drawn or accepted in Canada, upon or after the first day of February, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, there shall be levied, collected and paid to Her Majesty, for the public uses of the Dominion, the duties hereinafter mentioned, that is to say :— |
| The duties. | | On each such Promissory Note, and on each such Draft or Bill of Exchange, a duty of one cent, if such Note,Bill or Draft, amounts to but does not exceed twenty-five dollars ;—a duty of two cents if the amount thereof exceeds twenty-five dollars but does not exceed fifty dollars,—and a duty of three cents if the amount thereof exceeds fifty dollars but is less than one hundred dollars. On each such Promissory Note, and on each such Draft or Bill of Exchange, for one hundred dollars or more, executed singly, a duty of three cents, for the first hundred dollars of the amount thereof, and a further duty of three cents for each additional hundred dollars or fraction of a hundred dollars of the amount thereof ; On each such Draft or Bill of Exchange executed in duplicate, a duty of two cents on each part for the first hundred dollars of the amount thereof, and, a further duty of two cents for each additional hundred dollars or fraction of a hundred dollars of the amount thereof ; On each such Draft or Bill of Exchange executed in more than two parts, a duty of one cent on each part for the first hundred dollars of the amount thereof, and a further duty of one cent for each additional hundred dollars or fraction of a hundred dollars of the amount thereof ; And any interest made payable at the maturity of any Bill, Draft or Note, with the principal sum, shall be counted as part of the amount thereof. |
| What shall be deemed instruments liable to duty. | 2. | Every bill, draft, order or instrument,— For the payment of any sum of money by a bill or promissory note, whether such payment be required to be made to the hearer or to order,— Every document usually termed a letter of credit, or whereby any person is entitled to have credit with, or to receive from or draw upon any person for any sum of money,— And every receipt for money, given by any bank or person, and entitling the person paying such money, or the bearer of such receipt, to receive the like sum from any third person,— Shall be deemed a bill of exchange or draft chargeable with duty under this Act. |
| Exemptions from duty. | 3. | Every bill of exchange, draft or order drawn by any officer of Her Majesty's Commissariat, or by any other officer in Her Majesty's Imperial or Provincial Service, in his official capacity, or any acceptance or endorsement by such officer on a bill of exchange drawn out of Canada, or any draft of or on any Bank payable to the order of any such officer in his official capacity as aforesaid, or any note payable on demand to bearer issued by any Chartered Bank in Canada, or by any Bank issuing such note under the Act, chapter fifty-five of the Consolidated Statutes of the late Province of Canada, intituled : An Act reverting Banks and freedom of Banking, shall be free from duty under this Act,—and Any cheque upon any Chartered Bank or Licensed Banker, or on any Savings Bank, if the same shall be payable on demand,— Any post office money order, or order on any post office Savings Bank,—and Any municipal debenture or coupon of such debenture,— shall be free of duty under this Act. |
| How the duties shall be paid. | 4. | The duty on any such Promissory Note, Draft, Bill of Exchange or part thereof, |
| Stamped paper. | | shall be paid by making it upon paper stamped in the manner hereinafter provided, to the amount of such duty,—or |
| Adhesive stamps. | | By affixing thereto an adhesive stamp or adhesive stamps of the kind hereinafter mentioned, to the amount of such duty, |
| Provision for cancelling adhesive stamps. | | upon which the signature or part of the signature of the maker or drawer, or in the case of a Draft or Bill made or drawn out of Canada of the acceptor or first indorser in Canada, or his initials, or some integral or material part of the instrument shall be written, so as (as far as may be practicable) to identify each stamp with the instrument to which it is attached, and to show that it has not before been used, and to prevent its being thereafter used for any other instrument,—or |
| Or date to be written on Stamp. | | The person affixing such adhesive stamp, shall, at the time of affixing the same, write or stamp thereon the date al which it is affixed, and such stamp shall be held primâ facie to have been affixed at the date stamped or written thereon ; |
| Penalty for non-complience with this Act. | | And if no integral or material part of the instrument, nor any part of the signature of the maker, drawer, acceptor or first indorser in Canada be written thereon, nor any date be so stamped or written thereon, or if the date do not agree with that of the instrument, such adhesive stamp shall be of no avail ; |
| Avoidance of Instrument. | | and any person wilfully writing or stamping a false date on any adhesive stamp shall incur a penalty of one hundred dollars for each such offence. |
| Stamped paper may be prepared and used. | 5. | The Governor in Council may from time to time direct stamped paper to be prepared for the purposes of this Act, of such kinds and bearing respectively such device as he thinks proper, and may defray the cost thereof out of any unappropriated monies forming part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund; but the device on each starop shall express the value thereof, that is to say, the sum at which it shall be reckoned in payment of the duties imposed by this Act. |
| Or adhesive stamps. | 6. | The Governor in Council may from time to time direct stamps to be prepared for the purposes of this Act, of such kinds and bearing respectively such device as he thinks proper, and may defray the cost thereof out of any unappropriated moneys forming part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund ; but the device on each stamp shall express the value thereof, that is to say, the sum at which it shall be reckoned in payment of the duties hereby imposed. |
| As to duty payable in Nova Scotia. | 7. | Provided, that as regards any Promissory Note, Draft or Bill of Exchange on which the duty is payable in Nova Scotia, the amount on which the duty is payable under this Act, and the amount of such duty, shall be reckoned in the currency of that Province, and the stamped paper and stamps to be used there shall be marked accordingly, and shall not be used in any other part of Canada. |
| Sale and distribution of stamps and stamped paper. | 8. | The Minister of Inland Revenue may appoint any Postmasters, Collectors of Inland Revenue, or other officers of the Government, to be the distributors of stamps and stamped paper, under this Act, and may authorize any other persons to purchase stamps from such distributors to sell again ;—and the Governor in Council may fix the remuneration to be allowed to such distributors, and the discount to be made to persons so purchasing to sell again ; but such discount shall in no case exceed five per cent. on the value of such stamps, and shall not be allowed on any quantity less than one hundred dollars worth. |
| Governor in Council may make further regulation, to provide for doubtful cases. | 9. | The Governor in Council may make such further regulations as he may deem necessary for carrying this Act into effect, and may by any order in Council declare that any kind or class of instruments as to which doubts may arise, are or are not chargeable with any and what duty under this Act according to the true meaning thereof ; and any order in Council made under this Act may be explained, amended or repealed by any other such order of later date ; and any order in Council under this Act shall be published, and may be proved in the manner provided by the Act respecting the Customs as to orders in Council under that Act. |
| By whom the stamps shall be affixed. | 10. | The stamp or stamps required to pay the duty hereby imposed shall in the case of any Promissory Note, Draft or Bill of Exchange made or drawn within Canada, and not made upon paper stamped to the amount of the duty, be affixed by the maker or drawer thereof, and in the case of any Draft or Bill of Exchange drawn out of Canada, by the acceptor thereof or the first indorser thereof in Canada ; |
| Penalty in default and duty doubled. | | and such maker or drawer, acceptor or first indorser, failing to affix such stamp or stamps at the time of making, drawing, accepting or indorsing such Note, Draft or Bill, or affixing stamps of insufficient amount shall thereby incur a penalty hereinafter imposed, and the duty payable on such instrument, or the duty by which the stamps affixed fall short of the proper amount, shall be doubled stamps upon the paper being deemed to be affixed thereto for all the purposes of this Act ; and any deficiency in the amount of the stamp on the paper may be made up by adhesive stamps. |
| Penalty for not affixing the proper stamps. | 11. | If any person in Canada makes, draws, accepts, indorses. signs, becomes a party to or pays any promissory no., draft or bill of exchange, chargeable with duty under this Act, before the duty (or double duty as the case may be) has been paid by affixing thereto the proper stamp or stamps, such person shall thereby incur a penalty of one hundred dollars, and save only in case of the payment of double duty as hereinafter mentioned, such instrument shall be invalid and of no effect in law or in equity, and the acceptance or payment or protest thereof shall be of no effect ; |
| Exception in favor of subsequent parties : double duty to be paid. | | except that any subsequent party to such instrument or person paying the same, may at the time of his so paying or becoming a party thereto, pay such double duty by affixing to such instrument a stamp or stamps to the amount thereof, or to the amount of double the sum by which the stamps affixed fall short of the proper duty, and by writing his signature or part thereof, or his initials or the proper date, on such stamp or stamps, in the manner and for the purposes mentioned in the fourth section of this Act and such instrument shall thereby become valid, but no prior party who ought to have paid the duty thereon shall be released from the penalty by him incurred as aforesaid ; |
| Presumption in suits for penalties. | | and in suing for any such penalty, the fact that no part of the signature of the party charged with neglecting to affix the proper stamp or stamps is written over the stamp or stamps affixed to any instrument, or that no date, or a date that does not correspond with the time when the duty ought to have been paid, is written or marked on the stamp or stamps, shall be primâ facie evidence that such party did not affix it or them as required by this Act. |
| Provision in favor of innocent parties. | 12. | No party to or holder of any Promissory Note, Draft, or Bill of Exchange, shall incur any penalty by reason of the duty thereon not having been paid at the proper time and by the proper party or parties, provided that at the time it came into his hands it had affixed to it stamps to the amount of the duty apparently payable upon it, that he had no knowledge that they were not affixed at the proper time and by the proper party or parties, and that he pays the double duty or additional duty as soon as he acquires such knowledge,— |
| Holder may pay duty without becoming a party. | | and any holder of such instrument may pay the duty thereon, and give it validity, under section eleven of this Act, without becoming a party thereto ;—In this section the word "duty" includes any double or additional duty payable under the said section eleven. |
| Penalty for affixing stamps already used. | 13. | If any person wilfully affixes to any promissory note, draft Or bill of exchange, uny stamp which has been previously affixed to any other, or used for the purpose of paying any duty under this Act or any other Act, or which has been in any way previously written upon or defaced, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall thereby incur a penalty of five hundred dollars. |
| Penalty incurred on each instrument, tho' several be made on the same day, &c. | 14. | The penalties hereinbefore imposed shall be incurred in respect of each such promissory note, draft or bill of exchange, on which the duty or double duty hereby imposed is not paid as aforesaid, or to which a stamp previously used has been fraudulently affixed, whatever be the number of such instruments executed, accepted, paid or delivered, or offences committed on the same day and a separate penalty to the full amount shall be incurred by each person committing such offence, whatever be the number of such persons. |
| Recovery of penalties. | 15. | The penalties imposed by the foregoing sections of this Act, shall be recoverable in the manner prescribed by the Interpretation Act in cases where penalties are imposed and the recovery is not otherwise provided for. |
| Punishment for forging stamps, or making or having instruments of forging. | 16. | If any person forges, counterfeits or imitates or procures to be forged, counterfeited or imitated, any stamp or stamped paper, issued or authorized to be used for the purposes of this Act, or by means whereof any duty hereby unposed may be paid, or any part or portion of any such stamp,—or knowingly uses, offers, sells or exposes to sale, any such forged, counter-feited or imitated stamp,—or engraves, cuts, sinks or makes any plate, die or other thing wheby to make or imitate such stamp or any part or portion thereof, except by permission of the Minister of Inland Revenue, or some officer or person who, under an Order in Council in that behalf, may lawfully grant such permission—or has possession of any such plate, die or other thing, without such permission,—or, without such permission uses or has possession of any such plate, die or thing lawfully engraved, cut or made,—or tears off or removes from any instrument, on which a duty is payable under this Act, any stamp by which such duty has been wholly or in part paid,—or removes from uny such stamp any writing or mark indicating that it has been used for or towards the payment of any such duty,—such person shall be guilty of felony, and shall on conviction be liable to be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for any term not exceeding twenty-one years ; |
| Offence to be within the lands relative to forgery. | | and every such offence in the Province of Quebec or in the Province of Ontario, shall be forgery within the meaning and purview of chapter ninety-four of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, intituled : An Act respecting Forgery, and all the provisions of that Act shall apply to every such offence, and to principals in the second degree and accessories, as if such offence were expressly mentioned in the said Act, and in any other of the Provinces composing the Dominion of Canada every such offence shall be forgery and punishable in the manner in which that crime is punishable by the laws of the Province in which the offence is committed. |
| Duties to be withing the Revenue Act. | 17. | The duties imposed by this Act shall he duties within the meaning and purview of the Act passed in the present Session intituled : An Act respecting the collection and management of the Revenue, the Auditing of Public Accounts, and the liability of Public Accountants, and the proceeds of the said duties shall form part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of this Province. |
| No duty under certain Canadian Acts on notes &c., made &c., on or after 1st February, 1868. | 18. | No duty shall be payable under the Act of the Legislature of the late Province of Canada, passed in the Session held in the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth years of Her Majesty's Reign, chapter four, or under the Act of the said Legislature, passed in the twenty-ninth year of Her Majesty's Reign, chapter four, on any Promissory Note, Draft or Bill of Exchange made, drawn or accepted, upon or after the said first day of February one thousand eight hundred and sixty-right, |
| Acts to apply to notes, &c., made before that day. | | but to all Promissory Notes, Drafts or Bills of Exchange made, drawn or accepted in the late Province of Canada, or in the Provinces of Quebec or Ontario, before the said day, and to all offences committed and penalties incurred in respect thereof, the said Acts shall continue to apply. |

## Source

Early Canada Online
This work is in the public domain worldwide because it was prepared or published by or under the direction or control of the Canadian Government or any government department prior to 1974.
Section 12 of the Canadian Copyright Act provides a reservation for Crown rights or privileges. Lack of modern case law on the subject makes it unclear whether perpetual prerogative rights over these documents still apply, or whether these rights have lapsed. Notwithstanding, these documents are reproducible under the terms of the Reproduction of Federal Law Order.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse