Finance Act 2013

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Land: special provisions.

78.— (1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting the following after section 31:

“Resting in contract.

31A.— (1) Where—

(a) the holder of an estate or interest in land in the State enters into a contract or agreement with another person for the sale of the estate or interest to that other person or to a nominee of that other person, and

(b) a payment which amounts to, or as the case may be payments which together amount to, 25 per cent or more of the consideration for the sale has been paid to, or at the direction of, the holder of the estate or interest at any time pursuant to the contract or agreement,

then the contract or agreement shall be chargeable with the same stamp duty, to be paid by the other person, as if it were a conveyance or transfer of the estate or interest in the land.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where, within 30 days of the date on which a payment which amounts to, or as the case may be payments which together amount to, 25 per cent or more of the consideration for the sale referred to in subsection (1) has been paid—

(a) an electronic return or paper return has been delivered to the Commissioners in relation to a conveyance or transfer made in conformity with the contract or agreement referred to in subsection (1), and

(b) the stamp duty chargeable on the conveyance or transfer has been paid to the Commissioners.

(3) Where stamp duty has been paid, in respect of a contract or agreement, in accordance with subsection (1), a conveyance or transfer made in conformity with the contract or agreement shall not be chargeable with any duty, and the Commissioners, where an electronic return or paper return has been delivered to them in relation to the conveyance or transfer, shall either denote the payment of the duty on the conveyance or transfer or transfer the duty to the conveyance or transfer on production to them of the contract or agreement, duly stamped.

(4) The stamp duty paid on any contract or agreement, in accordance with subsection (1), shall be returned where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the contract or agreement has been rescinded or annulled.

Licence agreements.

31B.— (1) In this section ‘development’, in relation to any land, means—

(a) the construction, demolition, extension, alteration or reconstruction of any building on the land, or

(b) any engineering or other operation in, on, over or under the land to adapt it for materially altered use.

(2) Where—

(a) the holder of an estate or interest in land in the State enters into an agreement with another person under which that other person, or a nominee of that other person, is entitled to enter onto the land to carry out development on that land, and

(b) by virtue of the agreement, otherwise than as consideration for the sale of all or part of the estate or interest in the land, the holder of the estate or interest in the land receives at any time a payment which amounts to, or as the case may be payments which together amount to, 25 per cent or more of the market value of the land concerned,

then within 30 days of the first such time, the agreement shall be chargeable with the same stamp duty, to be paid by that other person, as if it were a conveyance or transfer of the estate or interest in the land.

(3) The stamp duty paid on any agreement, in accordance with subsection (2), shall be returned where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the agreement has been rescinded or annulled.”,

(b) by deleting section 36,

(c) by inserting the following after section 50:

“Agreements for more than 35 years charged as leases.

50A.— (1) An agreement for a lease or with respect to the letting of any lands, tenements, or heritable subjects for any term exceeding 35 years, shall be charged with the same stamp duty as if it were an actual lease made for the term and consideration mentioned in the agreement where 25 per cent or more of that consideration has been paid.

(2) The stamp duty paid on any agreement for a lease, in accordance with subsection (1), shall be returned where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the agreement for a lease has been rescinded or annulled.”,

and

(d) by substituting “section 50 or 50A” for “section 50” in paragraph (4) of the Heading “LEASE” in Schedule 1.

(2) Section 82 (other than subsection (2) of that section) of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 is repealed.

(3) Subsection (1) applies as respects instruments executed on or after 13 February 2013 other than instruments executed solely in pursuance of a binding contract or agreement entered into before 13 February 2013.