PART III

Stamp Duties

31. —(1) A contract or agreement for the sale of any leasehold interest in any immovable property shall, if—

(a) the purchaser enters into possession of the property before having obtained a transfer, duly stamped, of such interest, and

(b) a transfer of such interest made in pursuance of the contract or agreement is not duly stamped within the period of 9 months from the first execution of the contract or agreement or such longer period as the Revenue Commissioners may specify in writing, being a period which they consider reasonable in all the circumstances of the case,

be charged with the same ad valorem stamp duty, to be paid by the purchaser, as if it were an actual transfer on sale of the leasehold interest contracted or agreed to be sold, and where the ad valorem stamp duty charged on the contract or agreement has been duly paid in conformity with this subsection—

(i) the transfer of the said leashold interest made in pursuance of the contract or agreement shall not be chargeable with any duty,

(ii) the Revenue Commissioners, upon application, either shall denote the payment of the said duty upon the transfer, or shall transfer it thereto upon production of the contract or agreement duly stamped, and

(iii) the said duty shall be returned where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the contract or agreement has been rescinded or annulled.

(2) This section shall not have effect with respect to any instrument executed before the date of the passing of this Act.

32. —(1) Section 74 of the Finance (1909-10) Act, 1910, is hereby amended by the insertion in subsection (5) after “except where marriage is the consideration” of “and it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the conveyance or transfer is for the benefit of a party to the marriage or of a party to and issue of the marriage” and the said subsection (5), as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

(2) This section shall not have effect with respect to any instrument executed before the date of the passing of this Act.

TABLE

(5) Any conveyance or transfer (not being a disposition made in favour of a purchaser or incumbrancer or other person in good faith and for valuable consideration) shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be a conveyance or transfer operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos, and (except where marriage is the consideration and it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the conveyance or transfer is for the benefit of a party to the marriage or of a party to

and issue of the marriage) the consideration for any conveyance or transfer shall not for this purpose be deemed to be valuable consideration where the Commissioners are of opinion that by reason of the inadequacy of the sum paid as consideration or other circumstances the conveyance or transfer confers a substantial benefit on the person to whom the property is conveyed or transferred.

33. —The Imposition of Duties (No. 228) (Stamp Duty on Certain Instruments) Order, 1977, is hereby revoked with respect to instruments executed on or after the date of the passing of this Act.

34. —(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, any instrument whereby property is conveyed or transferred to any person in contemplation of a sale of that property shall be treated for the purposes of the Stamp Act, 1891, as a conveyance or transfer on sale of that property for a consideration equal to the value of that property.

(2) If on a claim made to the Revenue Commissioners not later than six years after the making or execution of an instrument chargeable with duty in accordance with subsection (1) of this section, it is shown to their satisfaction—

(a) that the sale in contemplation of which the instrument was made or executed has not taken place and the property has been re-conveyed or re-transferred to the person from whom it was conveyed or transferred or to a person to whom his rights have been transmitted on death or bankruptcy, or

(b) that the sale has taken place for a consideration which is less than the value in respect of which duty was paid on the instrument by virtue of this section,

the Revenue Commissioners shall repay the duty paid by virtue of this section, in a case falling under paragraph (a) of this subsection, so far as it exceeds the stamp duty which would have been payable apart from this section and, in a case falling under paragraph (b) of this subsection, so far as it exceeds the stamp duty which would have been payable if the instrument had been stamped in accordance with subsection (1) of this section in respect of a value equal to the consideration in question:

Provided that, in a case falling under the said paragraph (b), duty shall not be repayable if it appears to the Revenue Commissioners that the circumstances are such that a conveyance or transfer on the sale in question would have been chargeable with duty under section 74 of the Finance (1909-10) Act, 1910, by virtue of subsection (5) of that section (conveyances and transfers on sale chargeable as voluntary dispositions if for inadequate consideration).

(3) No instrument chargeable with duty in accordance with subsection (1) of this section shall be deemed to be duly stamped unless the Revenue Commissioners have been required to express their opinion thereon under section 12 of the Stamp Act, 1891, and have expressed their opinion thereon in accordance with that section.

(4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply whether or not an instrument conveys or transfers other property in addition to the property in contemplation of the sale of which it is made or executed, but those provisions shall not affect the stamp duty chargeable on the instrument in respect of that other property.

(5) For the purposes of the said section 74 and of subsection (1) of this section, the value of property conveyed or transferred by an instrument chargeable with duty in accordance with either of those provisions shall be determined without regard to—

(a) any power (whether or not contained in the instrument) on the exercise of which the property, or any part of or any interest in, the property, may be revested in the person from whom it was conveyed or transferred or in any person on his behalf, or

(b) any annuity reserved out of the property or any part of it, or any life or other interest so reserved, being an interest which is subject to forfeiture,

but if on a claim made to the Revenue Commissioners not later than six years after the making or execution of the instrument it is shown to their satisfaction that any such power as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection has been exercised in relation to the property and the property or any property representing it has been re-conveyed or re-transferred in the whole or in part in consequence of that exercise, the Revenue Commissioners shall repay the stamp duty paid by virtue of this subsection, in a case where the whole of such property has been so re-conveyed or re-transferred, so far as it exceeds the stamp duty which would have been payable apart from this subsection and, in any other case, so far as it exceeds the stamp duty which would have been payable if the instrument had operated to convey or transfer only such property as is not so re-conveyed or re-transferred.

35. —(1) Section 50 (which imposes a stamp duty on contracts for the construction, alteration or enlargement of buildings intended for use as offices) of the Finance Act, 1969 , shall not apply, and shall be deemed never to have applied, in relation to contracts made on or after the 14th day of April, 1978, to which subsection (1) of that section refers.

(2) Section 65 of the Finance Act, 1973 , shall have effect, and shall be deemed always to have had effect, as if the reference to section 50 (2) of the Finance Act, 1969 , were a reference to section 50 of the Finance Act, 1969 , and the reference to “ten per cent.” were a reference to “ten per cent.” in each place where it occurs.

(3) Section 47 of the Finance Act, 1977 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “31st day of December, 1979” for “31st day of December, 1978” in each place where it occurs.