CASH SALE DOCKETS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22974, 28 February 1938, Page 12

CASH SALE DOCKETS

PAYMENT OF STAMP DUTY FIRMS HELD NOT LIABLE MAGISTRATE'S DECISION [by telegraph—OWN correspondent] WELLINGTON, Saturday Of considerable importance to retailers who sell for cash was the reserved judgment given by Mr. J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court in the case in which the Commissioner of Stamp Duties proceeded against Boots the Chemists (N.Z.), Limited, Hallenstein Brothers, Limited, R. -Hannah and Company, Limited, and W. H. Tisdall, Limited, for giving unstamped receipts. All the informations were dismissed, the magistrate holding that the dockets, if they were receipts, were unsigned, and, in his opinion, not liable to duty. "The practice of giving a cash customer a docket or invoice setting out particulars of the goods purchased and the prices charged is an integral part of the book-keeping system of most shopkeepers," said the magistrate. The form of the dockets given by the four defendants differed from one another, and counsel directed their arguments to whether the documents were receipts within the meaning of the Stamp Act. " I reserved my decision on that question, and when considering the matter further I came to the conclusion that, assuming the documents aro receipts, I had first to decide whether they aro receipts liable to duty." Reviewing the legal position, the magistrate said that the payment of duty on receipts was imposed by section 177 of the Stamp Duties Act. "It is there enacted that 'every receipt executed in New Zealand shall be charged with a duty of twopence.' The word 'executed' with reference to every written document—except a will—means signed by nny one or more of the parties thereto, or in the case of a corporation, sealed with its seal."