S.I. No. 277/1991 - Stamp Duty (Variation) Order, 1991.

S.I. No. 277 of 1991.

STAMP DUTY (VARIATION) ORDER, 1991.

I, ALBERT REYNOLDS, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 95 of the Finance Act, 1991 (No. 13 of 1991), hereby order as follows:

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Stamp Duty (Variation) Order, 1991.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the 1st day of November, 1991.

2. In this Order—

"commodities" means tangible assets (other than currency, securities, debts or other assets of a financial nature) which are dealt in on a recognised commodity exchange;

"debt factoring agreement" means an agreement for the sale, or a transfer on sale, of a debt or part of a debt where such sale occurs in the ordinary course of the business of the vendor or purchaser;

"financial futures agreement" means a forward agreement which is for the time being dealt in and quoted on a recognised futures exchange or a recognised stock exchange;

"the First Schedule" means the First Schedule (as amended by the Finance Act, 1970 , and subsequent enactments) to the Stamp Act, 1891;

"forward agreement" means—

( a ) an agreement under which a party to the agreement agrees—

(i) to buy or sell commodities, currency, stocks or marketable securities, or

(ii) to pay or receive a sum of money (whether or not such money is actually paid or received), at a specified date or within a specified or determinable period of time and pursuant to which the price or currency exchange rate concerned or, in the case of a sum of money, the interest (if any) payable, or expressed to be payable, thereon is determined or determinable at the time of the execution of the agreement, or

( b ) an agreement conferring the right to receive certain payments and imposing the liability to make certain payments, the receipt and making of the payments being dependent on and related to certain movements in a specified stock exchange index or specified stock exchange indices;

"option agreement" means an agreement under which a right is conferred on a party to the agreement to do, at the party's discretion, either or both of the following:

( a ) to buy from or sell to or buy from and sell to another party to the agreement—

(i) specified stocks, marketable securities, commodities or currency,

(ii) an agreement conferring the right to receive certain payments and imposing the liability to make certain payments, the receipt and making of the payments being dependent on and related to certain movements in a specified stock exchange index or specified stock exchange indices,

on or before a specified date at a price that is determined or determinable at the time of the execution of the agreement,

( b ) to borrow money from or lend money to another party to the agreement for or within a specified period in consideration of the payment of interest by the party by whom the money is borrowed or to whom it is lent to the other party concerned at a rate that is determined or determinable at the time of the execution of the agreement;

"swap agreement" means an agreement under which the parties thereto exchange payments or repayments of money in respect of which such parties have obligations or rights and which are denominated in a specified currency or are subject to the payment of a specified rate of interest or relate to the price of specified commodities, stocks or marketable securities, for payments or repayments of the same kind which are denominated in another specified currency or are subject to the payment of a specified different rate of interest or relate to the price of other specified commodities, stocks or marketable securities.

3. For the purposes of this Order the risk to which a policy of insurance relates shall be deemed to be located—

(a) in case the policy is in respect of non-life insurance, in the place determined in accordance with the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 142 of 1991 ), and

(b) in any other case, in the place where the person, in respect of whom the policy concerned is issued, is habitually resident.

4. Stamp duty shall not be payable on any instrument which is—

(a) a debt factoring agreement,

(b) a swap agreement,

(c) a forward agreement,

(d) a financial futures agreement,

(e) an option agreement,

(f) a combination of any 2 or more of the instruments specified in paragraphs (a) to (e),

(g) a policy of insurance or a policy of life insurance where the risk is located outside the State,

(h) a conveyance, transfer, assignment, lease or licence of any immovable property situated outside the State,

(i) a conveyance or transfer on sale of any stocks or marketable securities which are dealt in and quoted on a recognised stock exchange,

(j) an instrument chargeable under paragraph (1) or (2) of the Heading "BOND, COVENANT, or INSTRUMENT of any kind whatsoever", in the First Schedule,

(k) an instrument chargeable under any of the following Headings in the First Schedule:

(i) "DEED of any kind whatsoever, not described in this schedule",

(ii) "CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER of any kind not herein before described",

(iii) "BOND of any kind whatsoever not specifically charged with any duty or specifically exempted from any duty",

(l) an instrument chargeable under paragraph (5) of the Heading "LEASE" in the First Schedule,

(m) an instrument chargeable under paragraph (1), (2), (3) or (4) of the Heading "MORTGAGE, BOND, DEBENTURE, COVENANT (except a marketable security) and WARRANT OF ATTORNEY to confess and enter up judgement" in the First Schedule where such instrument is not a security, or the transfer of a security, for the payment or repayment of money which is a charge or incumbrance upon property situated in the State other than shares in stocks or funds of the Government or the Oireachtas,

(n) a conveyance or transfer on sale of units of a unit trust to which subsection (5A) (inserted by Section 34 of the Finance Act, 1977 ) of Section 31 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , relates,

(o) a transfer of, or an agreement to transfer, an instrument specified in any of the preceding paragraphs of this Article (other than paragraphs (h), (i) and (n)), or

(p) an instrument executed by or on behalf of the National Treasury Management Agency or the Minister for Finance or any disposition of such an instrument or of any right or interest created by such an instrument.

5. The rate of stamp duty chargeable and payable in respect of a conveyance or transfer on sale of any policy of insurance or policy of life insurance (other than a policy of insurance or a policy of life insurance where the risk is located outside the State) shall be as follows:—

(a) where the amount or value of the consideration for the sale does not exceed £5,000 and the instrument contains a statement certifying that the transaction thereby effected does not form part of a larger transaction or series of transactions, in respect of which the amount or value, or the aggregate amount or value, of the consideration exceeds £5,000................................ Exempt,

(b) in any other case, for every £1,000 or fractional part of £1,000 of the consideration.....................£1.

6. The provisions of Articles 4 and 5 of this Order shall not apply to any instrument or class of instrument—

(a) which relates to—

(i) any immovable property situated in the State or any rights or interest in such property, or

(ii) any stock or share of a company having a register in the State,

or

(b) which is a bill of exchange or a promissory note.

7. Notwithstanding that, in respect of any particular provision it contains, an instrument is exempt from stamp duty by virtue of paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) of Article 4 of this Order, if the instrument is liable to stamp duty in respect of any other provision it contains under any Heading in the First Schedule, the instrument shall be chargeable with the latter stamp duty.

8. Subject to the provisions of Section 4 of the Stamp Act, 1891, any instrument which, in respect of a particular provision it contains, would, but for paragraph (j), (k), (1) or (m) of Article 4 of this Order, be chargeable to stamp duty under any of the Headings referred to in those paragraphs, shall not be chargeable with stamp duty in respect of that provision under any other Heading in the First Schedule.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 31st day of October, 1991.

ALBERT REYNOLDS.

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order is made under Section 95 of the Finance Act, 1991 . The purpose of the Order is to reduce or exempt the rate of stamp duty applicable to certain documents relating to financial matters. These rates will apply from 1 November, 1991.