Revenue stamps of Libya
Libya first issued revenue stamps when it was an Italian colony in 1913 and continues to do so to this day. The provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan as well as the municipality of Tripoli also had separate revenue issues until the 1950s and 1960s.
Libya general issues
When it was an Italian colony, various Italian and the Italian Colonies revenue stamps were overprinted for use in Libya from 1913 onwards. There were two types of overprints, either including the year of issue such as LIBIA-1913 or just LIBIA. There were several types, including Stamp Duty ', Land Rights ', Bill of Exchange ', Weights and Measures ', Passports ' and Authentications '.The next Libyan revenues were issued after the Kingdom of Libya was formed in 1951. Cyrenaican revenue stamps were further overprinted ليبيا LIBYA, and these were replaced by King Idris postage stamps overprinted REVENUE or FEDERAL REVENUE in English and Arabic between 1954 and 1956. Between 1955 and 1967 a new design showing the country's coat of arms was issued. Several different types of these exist, and there were separate issues for Consular Service, Federal Revenue, Priority and Revenue. Between 1968 and 1969 a new design showing oil wells replaced the coat of arms issues. Apart from these, between the early 1960s and 1968 designs of revenues from Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were reissued with altered inscriptions for use in all of Libya.
After the Kingdom was overthrown by a coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi in 1969, revenues of the Kingdom were overprinted L.A.R. in Arabic. A new design with a central octagon with rounded edges, surrounded by four rectangular panels was issued around 1970, and this design was reissued several times. A keytype with the country's coats of arms was issued for Consular Service, Passport Fees and War Tax between 1970 and 2002. There were various issues reflecting the changes in the coat of arms. Between 1974 and the 1990s there were also separate designs for Airport Tax, Medical Fee and Municipal Revenue issues.
Libyan revenues with the central octagon design remain in use to this day. They were not replaced by new issues after the civil war in 2011.
Regional issues
Tripolitania
When Tripolitania was an Italian colony, Italian Bill of Exchange ' and Weights and Measures ' revenues were overprinted Tripolitania. When it was under British occupation in 1946, Stamp Duty ' stamps of the Italian Colonies and Bill of Exchange ' stamps of Italian East Africa were overprinted B.M.A. for use in Tripolitania. In 1950 revenues of the Italian Colonies overprinted B.Adm.T. replaced these, reflecting the change from military to civil administration. These were replaced a year later with stamps overprinted simply Tripolitania, some with a new value in Military Authority Lire (MAL). Later that year Cyrenaican postage stamps were overprinted for Tripolitania in English and Arabic, again with new values in MAL.In 1951, after Tripolitania became part of the Kingdom of Libya, a new design showing the Tajura Mosque and a palm tree was issued. Several sets were issued in this design, and these were used until the 1960s.