Stamp Act 1949 · Updated to 1 Jan 2026 · Part VII · Instruments Not Duly Stamped
51. Examination and impounding of instruments
Feedback & supportEvery person having by law or consent of parties authority to receive evidence, and every person in charge of a public office,
charge
“charge” means any instrument whereby, for the purpose of securing the payment of any definite and certain sum of money advanced or lent at the time or previously due or foreborne to be paid or for the repayment of money to be thereafter lent, advanced or paid, or which may become due upon any account current, together with any sum already advanced or due, or without, as the case may be, or for the performance of any contract or engagement, one person creates a right over or charge upon any specified property; and includes any instrument which purports to create or in which any person agrees to create any such right or charge;
66 Laws of Malaysia ACT 378
except an officer of police, before whom any instrument, chargeable, in his opinion, with duty, is produced or comes in the performance of his functions, shall, if it appears to him that such instrument is not duly stamped, impound the same.
For that purpose every such person shall examine every instrument so chargeable and so produced or coming before him in order to ascertain whether it is stamped with a stamp of the value and description required by the law in force in Malaysia when such instrument was executed or first executed:
executed
“executed” and “execution”, used with reference to instruments not under seal, mean “signed” and “signature”;
Provided that—
nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require any
Magistrate or Judge to examine or impound, if he does not think fit to do so, any instrument coming before him in the course of any criminal proceeding;
in the case of a Judge of the High Court, the duty of examining and impounding any instrument under this section shall be performed by the Registrar.