Buy stamp papers at post offices

CHANDIGARH: The city may not be directly affected by the recent stamp paper scam that shook the whole country, but the supply of authentic stamp papers has not been smooth. Now you will be able to buy stamp papers at post offices. The Punjab government has appointed India Post to streamline its sales in the region. Says Sharon Gupta, director of finance of India Post, Punjab, "The huge public demand of stamp papers and their non-availability have driven the India Post, Punjab for the first time to begin selling stamp papers and other stamps initially at its various divisional headquarters including Chandigarh, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Ludhiana." It is the treasury of UT/state governments that receives the stamps and stamp papers from the security press and distributes them to stamp vendors at selected locations.These vendors make money from the commission given on the sale of these papers and stamps. During the scam, the scamsters made inroads into various state treasuries and ensured that they distributed fake stamps. Or scamsters directly supplied them to the vendors. But now to authenticate the supply of stamp papers, the Punjab government has issued licenses to India Post as the official suppliers, looking at the wide and deep reach post offices have in the region. With this move, post offices will become a one-stop business solution for the corporates and customers alike. "To generate additional revenue, India Post has forayed into retail business services earlier last year and this would be part of the same business," says Gupta. "We would specially target post offices which are located near the courts," Gupta adds. Later, the Punjab circle will make stamp papers available at its 22 head post offices in all districts of Punjab. "We have obtained license from the state revenue department to sell the stamp papers even at sub post offices in the state," says Gupta. As part of the deal, the postal department will get two per cent commission. It is yet not known whether other vendors will keep selling stamp papers and revenue stamps.