New Delhi, Dec. 12: The BJP-led central government has decided to bring in a new non-judicial stamp paper from July 1 next year. The new stamp paper was advised by a working group constituted after the Telgi scam broke out.

Replying to written questions, minister of state for finance A. V. Adsul said the step was being taken in view of the large seizures of counterfeit non-judicial stamp papers.

He said that the revenue department is examining the legal aspects of documents on fake stamp papers in consultation with the ministry of law and justice. Finance minister Jaswant Singh had, earlier, said that the “fake stamp papers already in use will not become invalid.”

Top finance ministry officials added that the government would bring an ordinance legalising these transactions using ‘Telgi stamp papers’, which were in circulation between 1998 and 2002.