India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 has been a heavy user of revenue stamp

Revenue stamp

A revenue stamp, tax stamp or fiscal stamp is a adhesive label used to collect taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other things...

s.

Before independence

Before independence, Indian revenue stamps were closely modelled on similar designs from Great Britain, often using a key type

Key type stamp

Key type stamps are stamps of a uniform design that were widely used by colonial territories in the 19th and 20th centuries.- Origins :The idea was invented by Perkins Bacon who used it to print stamps for Trinidad , Barbados and Mauritius , all featuring the same Britannia design.- Key plate...

 design.

In addition, numerous revenue stamps of unique designs were issued by the Princely States of India.

After independence

After independence, Indian revenue stamps changed to include the Lion Capital of Asoka

Lion Capital of Asoka

The Lion capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four "Indian lions" standing back to back. It was originally placed atop the Aśoka pillar at Sarnath, now in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India by Emperor Ashoka circa 250 BC. The pillar, sometimes called the Aśoka Column is still in its original...

 but still using a key type format. India has also used stamped paper

Stamped paper

Stamped paper refers to an, often, foolscap piece of paper which bears a pre-printed revenue stamp. Stamped papers are not a form of postal stationery...

 extensively, both before and after independence.

Further reading

• Koeppel, Adolph
  Adolph Koeppel
  Adolph Koeppel was a distinguished American philatelist and author who wrote a number of authoratitive works on the revenue stamps of India and Italy that remain the standard works in their areas.-Prize-winning collections:...
  
  . The Court Fee and Revenue Stamps of the Princely States of India: An Encyclopedia and Reference Manual, Volume I, The Adhesive Stamps, Fiscal Philatelic Foundation, New York, 1983. ISBN 0961377305. (With Raymond D. Manners)
• Koeppel, Adolph. The Court Fee and Revenue Stamps of the Princely States of India: An Encyclopedia and Reference Manual, Volume I, The Adhesive Stamps, Supplement), Fiscal Philatelic Foundation, New York, 1986. ISBN 0961377313. (With Raymond D. Manners)
• Koeppel, Adolph. The Court Fee and Revenue Stamps of the Princely States of India (The Stamped Paper Including Second Adhesive Stamp Supplement Volume II), Fiscal Philatelic Foundation, New York, 1989. ISBN 0961377321. (With Raymond D. Manners)