Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 section 27

Stamping of certain foreign bills of exchange

Section 27 provides that a foreign bill of exchange is not rendered invalid in the State solely because it has not been stamped in accordance with Irish stamp duty law.

• A bill of exchange presented for acceptance, accepted, or payable outside the State is not invalid merely because it lacks Irish stamp duty
• This applies regardless of any other enactment that might suggest otherwise
• Where such a foreign bill is unstamped or insufficiently stamped, the late stamping penalty rules and evidence rules apply as though it were an instrument legally stampable after execution
• The provision originated in 1936 to allow the State to accede to the Geneva Convention on stamp laws in connection with bills of exchange and promissory notes