of 1881, the UK's first dual-purpose stamp In 1881, the Customs and Inland Revenue Act was passed in the
United Kingdom, and it stated that "stamp duties of one penny may be denoted by postage stamps, and vice versa." This led to dual-purpose stamps being issued, starting with the
Penny Lilac of 1881 and the
Lilac and Green Issue of 1883–1884. The former was inscribed "Postage and Inland Revenue", while the latter bore the inscription "Postage & Revenue". In addition, existing postage and Inland Revenue stamps became valid for both purposes. Many British stamps with denominations up to 2s6d were valid for both postal and fiscal use until 1968, and most
definitive and some
commemorative stamps issued during this period were duly inscribed. The use of dual-purpose stamps in the various colonies of the
British Empire began in the 19th century. Some postage or revenue stamps did not have an inscription indicating their intended use, and they were unofficially used for both purposes. In the 1880s, some colonies officially permitted dual-purpose stamps, while some existing revenue stamps became valid for postal use (as
postal fiscals). Most British colonies issued stamps bearing inscriptions such as "Postage & Revenue" between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and some countries such as
Ceylon overprinted existing stocks of postage stamps with that inscription. Some high value stamps which bore these inscriptions were primarily intended for fiscal use and were almost exclusively used as such, but their inscriptions theoretically also made them postage stamps and they are therefore listed in postage stamp catalogues. In some cases, the issue of dual-purpose stamps created problems regarding the division of income between the post office and the treasury. After the late 1930s many colonies dropped the "Postage & Revenue" inscription from their stamps, but many stamps remained valid for both uses. ==Use in other countries==