Staff Reporter
Getting a stamp paper from the Islamabad District courts was a nightmare as the stamp paper dealers were charging the rates according to their wish.
Stamp papers are a legal requirement for official documents and artificial shortage allegedly created by the dealers was a constant trouble for citizen who are selling then at exorbitant rates instead of actual value.
The stamp paper dealers in F-8 courts and in other areas of the city were selling different value stamp paper on the rates determined by their own as the stamp papers worth Rs.5 and Rs 10 were being sold at Rs 100 due to no check by the authorities concerned.
Hundreds of people daily visit district courts for various purposes including domicile, sale deeds, marriage certificates, declaration of affidavits and various other matters but due to the negligence of the authorities concerned, the dealers were fleecing the people.
A citizen Abdul Majid told this scribe that he went to F-8 courts for a sale deed and asked a dealer for stamp paper but it was shocking for him when he asked him Rs 300 for Rs 20 value stamp paper.
He said all the dealers in the court premises were charging high rates fixed by them on the basis of their own unity and questioned why the authorities concerned have not taken any action against them so far.
Approximately, a total of 250 stamp paper dealers were licensed from District administration but were not being properly checked by the authorities.
A lawyer Bilawal Aziz, shared that some of the stamp paper dealers were doing business for years by creating artificial shortage.
When contacted an official of the District administration, he informed that various raids were conducted at licensed dealers shops creating artificial shortage against their quota, adding, the Federal Treasury Office (FTO) was issuing stamp papers as par routine.
He said a campaign has been launched against the black marketers and would be continued till the solution of this problem, adding that licenses of such black marketers would also be cancelled without any discrimination.
