Finance Act 2007

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Further farm consolidation relief.

104.— (1) The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 81B:

“81C.— (1) (a) In this section—

‘ conditions of consolidation ’ means the conditions of consolidation as set out in guidelines;

‘ consolidation certificate ’ means a certificate, issued for the purposes of this section by Teagasc to a farmer in relation to a sale and purchase of qualifying land both of which occur in the relevant period and within 18 months of each other, which identifies the lands concerned, the owners of such lands and certifies that Teagasc is satisfied, on the basis of information available to Teagasc at the time of so certifying, that the sale and purchase of qualifying land complies, or will comply, with the conditions of consolidation set down in guidelines;

‘ farmer ’ means a person who spends not less than 50 per cent of the person’s normal working time farming;

‘ farming ’ includes the occupation of woodlands on a commercial basis;

‘ guidelines ’ means guidelines made and published pursuant to paragraph (b)(i);

‘ interest in qualifying land ’ means an interest in qualifying land which is not subject to any power (whether or not contained in the instrument) on the exercise of which the qualifying land, or any part of or any interest in the qualifying land, may be revested in the person from whom it was purchased or in any person on behalf of such person;

‘ PPS Number ’, in relation to a person, means the person’s Personal Public Service Number within the meaning of section 262 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ;

‘ purchase of qualifying land ’ means a conveyance or transfer (whether on sale or operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos) of an interest in qualifying land to a farmer and includes a conveyance or transfer where the qualifying land is conveyed or transferred to joint owners where not all the joint owners are farmers; and the date of the purchase of qualifying land shall be the date on which the conveyance or transfer is executed;

‘ qualifying land ’ means relevant land in respect of which a consolidation certificate has been issued by Teagasc;

‘ relevant land ’ means agricultural land, including lands suitable for occupation as woodlands on a commercial basis, in the State and such farm buildings together with the lands occupied with such farm buildings as are of a character appropriate to the relevant land but not including farm houses or mansion houses or the lands occupied with such farm houses and mansion houses unless such farm houses or mansion houses are derelict and unfit for human habitation;

‘ relevant period ’ means the period commencing on 1 July 2007 and ending on 30 June 2009;

‘ sale of qualifying land ’ means a conveyance or transfer (whether on sale or operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos) of an interest in qualifying land by a farmer and includes a conveyance or transfer where the qualifying land is conveyed or transferred by joint owners where not all the joint owners are farmers; and the date of the sale of qualifying land shall be the date on which the conveyance or transfer is executed;

‘ valid consolidation certificate ’ means a consolidation certificate which, on any day, has not been withdrawn as at that day.

(b) For the purposes of this section—

(i) the Minister for Agriculture and Food with the consent of the Minister for Finance may make and publish guidelines, from time to time setting out—

(I) how an application for a consolidation certificate is to be made,

(II) the documentation required to accompany such an application,

(III) the conditions of consolidation, and

(IV) such other information as may be required in relation to such application,

(ii) where an application is made in that regard, Teagasc shall issue a consolidation certificate in respect of a sale and purchase of relevant land, where they are satisfied, on the basis of information available to Teagasc at that time, that the sale and purchase of such lands complies, or will comply, with the conditions of consolidation, and

(iii) Teagasc may, by notice in writing, withdraw any consolidation certificate already issued.

(2) This section applies to a purchase of qualifying land by a farmer on any day (in this section referred to as the ‘calculation day’) falling within the relevant period.

(3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), stamp duty shall be chargeable on the instrument giving effect to the purchase of qualifying land to which this section applies as if it were a purchase of qualifying land made in consideration of a sum determined by the formula—

(P — S)

where—

P is the aggregate of—

(a) the value of the qualifying land being purchased, and

(b) the value of all other qualifying land purchased by the farmer in the relevant period where the date of the purchase falls in the period of 18 months ending on the calculation day and where any such purchase was treated by virtue of this subsection as having been made in consideration of a lesser amount in consequence of a sale of qualifying land being made before the commencement of that 18 month period, that lesser amount shall be treated as the value of that purchase,

and

S is the aggregate of the value of all the qualifying land sold by the farmer in the relevant period where the date of the sale falls in the period of 18 months ending on the calculation day, to the extent that it has not given rise to a repayment of duty under subsection (5) in respect of a purchase of qualifying land made before the commencement of that 18 month period.

(4) Where an amount of duty has been paid in accordance with subsection (3) and is not repayable (in this subsection referred to as the ‘relevant amount’) on a purchase of qualifying land by a farmer on a calculation day (in this subsection referred to as the ‘first calculation day’), the duty chargeable on a purchase of qualifying land by the farmer on a later calculation day, which falls within the period of 18 months commencing on the first calculation day, shall be reduced by the relevant amount.

(5) Where at any time in the period of 18 months commencing on a calculation day, qualifying land is sold by a farmer, that sale shall be treated as if it were a sale made on the calculation day and the duty chargeable, in accordance with subsection (3), on the instrument giving effect to the purchase of qualifying land made on the calculation day shall be recomputed in accordance with subsection (3) and an amount equal to the difference between—

(a) the duty charged on the instrument prior to the recomputation, and

(b) the duty that is chargeable on the instrument after the recomputation,

shall, subject to compliance with the conditions set out in subsection (6), be repaid by the Commissioners where a claim for repayment is made to them in that regard.

(6) A claim for relief under subsection (3) or a claim for relief by way of repayment under subsection (5), made to the Commissioners under this section, shall be allowed on the production to them of—

(a) the instrument giving effect to the purchase of the qualifying land,

(b) a certified copy of the instrument giving effect to the sale of the qualifying land,

(c) a valid consolidation certificate in relation to the purchase and sale of the qualifying land in respect of which the claim for relief is being made,

(d) a declaration of a kind referred to in subsection (7), made by each farmer who has purchased the qualifying land referred to in paragraph (a),

(e) a declaration made in writing by each person, who has purchased the qualifying land referred to in paragraph (a), in such form as the Commissioners may specify, declaring that it is the intention of such person—

(i) to retain ownership of his or her interest in the qualifying land, and

(ii) that the qualifying land will be used for farming,

for a period of not less than 5 years from the date on which the first claim for relief in respect of the qualifying land is made, and

(f) the PPS Number of each person who has purchased the qualifying land referred to in paragraph (a).

(7) The declaration referred to in subsection (6)(d) is a declaration made in writing by a farmer, in such form as the Commissioners may specify, which—

(a) is signed by the farmer, and

(b) declares that the farmer—

(i) will remain a farmer, and

(ii) will farm the qualifying land referred to in subsection (6)(a),

for a period of not less than 5 years from the date on which the first claim for relief in respect of the qualifying land is made.

(8) This section shall not apply to an instrument unless it has, in accordance with section 20, been stamped with a particular stamp denoting that it is duly stamped or, as the case may be, that it is not chargeable with any duty.

(9) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), where any person who purchased qualifying land by any instrument in respect of which relief was allowed by the Commissioners, disposes of such qualifying land, or part of such qualifying land, within a period of 5 years from the date on which the first claim for relief in respect of the qualifying land is allowed, then such person or, where there is more than one such person, each such person, jointly and severally, shall become liable to pay to the Commissioners a penalty of an amount equal to the amount of the difference between—

(i) the duty that would have been charged on the value of such qualifying land, if such qualifying land had been purchased by that person or, where there is more than one such person, each such person, by an instrument to which this section had not applied, and

(ii) the duty, if any, that was charged and is not repayable on the instrument concerned,

together with interest charged on that amount, calculated in accordance with section 159D, from the date of disposal of the qualifying land or, as the case may be, a part thereof, to the date the penalty is remitted.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to any disposal of qualifying land which is being compulsorily acquired but subsection (5) shall not apply to give relief, after that disposal, in respect of the duty already charged on the purchase of qualifying land.

(c) Where any claim for relief from duty under this section has been allowed and it is subsequently found that a declaration referred to in paragraph (d) or (e) of subsection (6)—

(i) was untrue in any material particular which would have resulted in the relief not being allowed, and

(ii) was made knowing same to be untrue or in reckless disregard as to whether it was true or not,

then the person or persons who made such a declaration, jointly and severally, shall become liable to pay to the Commissioners a penalty of an amount equal to the amount of the difference between—

(I) 125 per cent of the duty that would have been charged on the instrument had this section not applied due to all the facts not having been truthfully declared, and

(II) the duty, if any, that was charged and is not repayable on the instrument concerned,

together with interest charged on that amount, calculated in accordance with section 159D, from the date when the claim for relief was made to the Commissioners to the date the penalty is remitted.

(d) Where a consolidation certificate, purporting to be valid at the date when a claim for relief under this section is made to the Commissioners, is furnished to the Commissioners and it subsequently transpires that the consolidation certificate was not a valid consolidation certificate on that date, the parties to the instrument who have purchased the qualifying land, jointly and severally, shall become liable to pay to the Commissioners a penalty of an amount equal to the amount of the difference between—

(i) 125 per cent of the duty that would have been charged on the instrument had this section not applied to it, and

(ii) the duty, if any, that was charged and is not repayable on the instrument concerned,

together with interest charged on that amount, calculated in accordance with section 159D, from the date the claim for relief is made to the Commissioners to the date the penalty is remitted.

(10) Notwithstanding subsection (9)—

(a) where relief under this section was allowed in respect of any instrument, a disposal by a farmer or other joint owner of part of the qualifying land to a spouse for the purpose of creating a joint tenancy in the qualifying land, or where the instrument gave effect to the purchase of the qualifying land by joint owners, a disposal by one joint owner, to another joint owner (being a farmer) of any part of the qualifying land, shall not be regarded as a disposal to which subsection (9) applies, but on such disposal, such part of the qualifying land shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (9) as if it had been purchased immediately by the spouse or other joint owner by the instrument in respect of which relief was allowed,

(b) a person shall not be liable, in respect of the same matter, to more than one penalty under paragraph (a), (c) or (d) of subsection (9),

(c) a person shall not be liable, in respect of the same matter, to a penalty under paragraph (a) of subsection (9), if and to the extent that such person has paid a penalty under paragraph (c) or (d) of subsection (9),

(d) a person shall not be liable, in respect of the same matter, to a penalty under paragraph (c) of subsection (9), if and to the extent that such person has paid a penalty under paragraph (a) or (d) of subsection (9), and

(e) a person shall not be liable, in respect of the same matter, to a penalty under paragraph (d) of subsection (9), if and to the extent that such person has paid a penalty under paragraph (a) or (c) of subsection (9).

(11) This section shall not apply to any instrument effecting a purchase of qualifying land where the purchaser of such land or, as the case may be, any of the purchasers, is a company.

(12) This section applies as respects instruments executed on or after 1 July 2007 and on or before 30 June 2009.”.

(2) Subsection (1) comes into operation on the making of an order to that effect by the Minister for Finance.