PART IV

Stamp Duties

199. —In this Part—

“the Act of 1891” means the Stamp Act, 1891;

“the Commissioners” means the Revenue Commissioners;

“the First Schedule” means the First Schedule (as amended by the Finance Act, 1970 , and subsequent enactments) to the Act of 1891.

200. —(1) In this section—

“assessable amount” means the amount shown as the assessable amount in the statement delivered to the Commissioners pursuant to section 89 of the Finance Act, 1991 ;

“bank” means a person who, on the 1st day of September, 1990, was the holder of a licence granted under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971 , or the successors or assigns of such person.

(2) A bank shall deliver to the Commissioners, not later than the 12th day of September in each of the years 1992, 1993 and 1994, a statement in writing showing the assessable amount for that bank.

(3) There shall be charged on every statement delivered pursuant to subsection (2) a stamp duty of an amount equal to the sum of the following:

(a) 0.26 per cent. of that part of the assessable amount shown therein that does not exceed £135,000,000, and

(b) 0.3865 per cent. of that part of the assessable amount shown therein that exceeds £135,000,000:

Provided that in the case where the assessable amount shown in the statement does not exceed £135,000,000 stamp duty of an amount equal to 0.26 per cent. of the assessable amount shown therein shall be charged.

(4) The duty charged by subsection (3) upon a statement deliveredby a bank pursuant to subsection (2) shall be paid by the bank upon delivery of the statement.

(5) There shall be furnished to the Commissioners by a bank such particulars as the Commissioners may deem necessary in relation to any statement required by this section to be delivered by the bank.

(6) In the case of failure by a bank to deliver any statement required by subsection (2) within the time provided for in that subsection or of failure to pay the duty chargeable on any such statement on the delivery thereof, the bank shall, from the date of the passing of this Act until the day on which the duty is paid, be liable to pay, by way of penalty, in addition to the duty, interest thereon at the rate of 15 per cent. per annum and also from the 12th day of September in each of the years 1992, 1993 and 1994, as the case may be, by way of further penalty, a sum equal to 1 per cent. of the duty for each day the duty remains unpaid and each penalty shall be recoverable in the same manner as if the penalty were part of the duty.

(7) The delivery of any statement required by subsection (2) may be enforced by the Commissioners under Section 47 of the Succession Duty Act, 1853, in all respects as if such statement were such account as is mentioned in that section and the failure to deliver such statement were such default as is mentioned in that section.

(8) Except as provided for in section 45 , the stamp duty charged by this section shall not be allowed as a deduction for the purposes of the computation of any tax or duty (being tax or duty under the care and management of the Commissioners) payable by the bank.

(9) Where a company, which was a bank on the 1st day of September, 1990, and which was or is a member of a group within the meaning of section 45 , ceases to be a bank, any stamp duty payable by such company by virtue of subsection (4) and which remains unpaid shall be payable by any other bank which is a member of the group, in the same manner as if it was part of the liability of such bank:

Provided that where there is more than one bank in the group, each such bank shall be liable to pay a portion of such unpaid duty which shall be an amount which bears to the unpaid duty the same proportion as the liability of each bank in the group bears to the total liability of the group, but excluding, in the case of each such liability, such unpaid duty.

201. —(1) This section shall apply to an instrument which—

(a) was first executed before the 1st day of November, 1991, and

(b) was unstamped or insufficiently stamped on the 30th day of January, 1992.

(2) Where an instrument to which this section applies is delivered for stamping to the Commissioners together with the unpaid duty—

(a) on or before the 30th day of June, 1992, such instrument shall be stamped without payment of penalty, or

(b) on or after the 1st day of July, 1992, but on or before the 30th day of September, 1992, such instrument shall be stamped on payment of a penalty calculated as if the instrument was first executed on the 1st day of June, 1992.

(3) Where an instrument to which this section applies is delivered to the Commissioners together with unpaid duty which is insufficient, or is found to be insufficient, by virtue of the revaluation of property to which the instrument relates or for any other reason, then—

(a) the provisions of subsection (2) (a) shall apply to any additional duty paid if it is paid on or before the 30th day of June, 1992,

(b) the provisions of subsection (2) (b) shall apply to any additional duty paid if it is paid on or after the 1st day of July, 1992, but on or before the 30th day of September, 1992.

202. — Section 17 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1981 , is hereby amended with effect as on and from the 1st day of February, 1992—

(a) by the substitution of “£15” for “£10” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1984 ) in subsection (1)(c),

(b) by the substitution of “£7.50” for “£5” (as so inserted) in subsection (2)(c), and

(c) by the substitution of “£15” for “£10” (as so inserted) in paragraph (d)(ii) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1983 ) of subsection (2).

203. —(1) In this section—

“accounting period” has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of section 9 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 ;

“bank” means a person who, on the 15th day of June in any year (being the year 1992 or a subsequent year), holds a licence granted under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971 ;

“building society” means a building society which, on the 15th day of June in any year (being the year 1992 or a subsequent year), stands incorporated, or deemed by section 124 (2) of the Building Societies Act, 1989 , to be incorporated, under that Act and includes a company registered under section 106 of that Act;

“card account” means an account maintained by a promoter to which amounts of cash obtained by a person by means of a cash card are charged;

“cash card” means a card issued by a promoter to a person having an address in the State by means of which cash may be obtained, in the State by the person from an automated teller machine;

“date of publication” means the date of publication of the Finance Bill, 1992;

“due date” means—

(a) in the case of the year 1992, the 1st day of September, or the date of the end of the accounting period ending in 1992, whichever is the later, and

(b) in the case of the year 1993 and each subsequent year, thedate of the end of the accounting period ending in that year;

“promoter” means a bank or a building society.

(2) A promoter shall, within one month of the due date, deliver to the Commissioners a statement in writing showing the number of cash cards issued at any time by the promoter and which are valid—

(a) in the case of the year 1992, at any time during the period from the date of publication to the due date, and

(b) in the case of the year 1993, at any time during the period from—

(i) the 1st day of September, 1992, or

(ii) the date of the end of the accounting period ending in the year 1992, if it falls after the 1st day of September, 1992

to the due date, and

(c) in the case of the year 1994 and each subsequent year, at any time during the accounting period ending in that year:

Provided that—

(I) if the cash card is not used at any time during any of the periods referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), or

(II) if the cash card is issued in respect of a card account—

(A) which is a deposit account, and

(B) the average of the daily positive balances in the account does not exceed £10 in any of the periods referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c),

then it shall not be included in the statement relating to such period.

(3) There shall be charged on every statement delivered in pursuance of subsection (2) a stamp duty at the rate of £2 in respect of each card included in the number of cards shown in the statement.

(4) The duty charged by subsection (3) upon a statement delivered by a promoter pursuant to subsection (2) shall be paid by the promoter upon delivery of the statement.

(5) There shall be furnished to the Commissioners by a promoter such particulars as the Commissioners may deem necessary in relation to any statement required by this section to be delivered by the promoter.

(6) In the case of failure by a promoter to deliver any statement required by subsection (2) within the time provided for in that subsection or of failure to pay the duty chargeable on any such statement on the delivery thereof, the promoter shall be liable to pay, by way of penalty, in addition to the duty, interest thereon at the rate of 1.25 per cent. per month or part of a month from the date to which the statement relates (hereinafter referred to as the due date) to the date on which the duty is paid and also, by way of further penalty, a sum of £300 for each day the duty remains unpaid after the expiration of one month from the due date and each penalty shall be recoverable in the same manner as if the penalty were part of the duty.

(7) The delivery of any statement required by subsection (2) may be enforced by the Commissioners under section 47 of the Succession Duty Act, 1853, in all respects as if such statement were such account as is mentioned in that section and the failure to deliver such statement were such default as is mentioned in that section.

(8) A promoter shall be entitled to charge to the card account the amount of stamp duty payable in respect of the cash card by virtue of this section and may apply the terms and conditions governing that account to interest on that amount.

(9) An account, charge card, company charge card or supplementary card within the meaning, in each case, assigned to it by section 17 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1981 , and which attracts the payment of the stamp duty payable by virtue of the provisions of that section shall not attract the payment of the stamp duty payable by virtue of the provisions of this section.

204. —As respects instruments executed on or after the 1st day of February, 1992—

(a) the First Schedule, other than the Heading “CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any property other than stocks or marketable securities.” and the Heading “LEASE”,

(b) sections 56, 59, 62 and 106 of the Stamp Act, 1891,

(c) section 9 of the Finance Act, 1902,

(d) section 42 of the Finance Act, 1920, and

(e) section 30 of the Finance Act, 1961 ,

are hereby amended by the substitution of “£10” for “£5” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1982 ) in each place where it occurs.

205. —(1) The Heading set out in Part I of the Seventh Schedule to this Act is hereby substituted for the Heading “CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any stocks or marketable securities.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1990 ) in the First Schedule.

(2) The Heading set out in Part II of the Seventh Schedule to this Act is hereby inserted after the Heading “CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any stocks or marketable securities.” and before the Heading “CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any property other than stocks or marketable securities.” in the First Schedule.

(3) The Heading set out in Part III of the Seventh Schedule to this Act is hereby substituted for the Heading “CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER of any kind not hereinbefore described” (as amended by the Finance Act, 1982 ) in the First Schedule.

(4) The Heading set out in Part IV of the Seventh Schedule to this Act is hereby substituted for the Heading “DEED of any kind whatsoever, not described in this Schedule (other than an award, a charter-party or an agreement or contract made or entered into pursuant to the Highways Acts for or relating to the making, maintaining or repairing of highways).” (as amended by the Finance Act, 1982 ) in the First Schedule.

(5) The Heading set out in Part V of the Seventh Schedule to this Act is hereby substituted for the Heading “MORTGAGE, BOND, DEBENTURE, COVENANT (except a marketable security) and WARRANT OF ATTORNEY to confess and enter up judgment.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1991 ) in the First Schedule.

(6) The First Schedule is hereby amended by the deletion of the following Headings and provisions thereto, that is to say:

(a) “BOND, COVENANT, or INSTRUMENT of any kind whatsoever” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1991 ),

(b) “BOND of any kind whatsoever not specifically charged with any duty or specifically exempted from any duty.” (as amended by the Finance Act, 1982 ), and

(c) “WARRANT OF ATTORNEY to confess and enter up a judgment given as a security for the payment or repayment of money, or for a transfer or retransfer of stock.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1970 ).

(7) The First Schedule is hereby amended by the insertion of the words “or a policy of insurance or a policy of life insurance.” after the word “securities” in the Heading “CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any property other than stocks or marketable securities.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1990 ).

(8) The First Schedule is hereby amended by the insertion of the words “which relates to immovable property situated in the State or to any right over or interest in such property.” after the word “described” in Paragraph (5) of the Heading “LEASE” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1991 ).

(9) The First Schedule is hereby amended by the insertion in each of the following Headings (inserted by the Finance Act, 1982 ) of the words “where the risk to which the policy relates is located in the State” after—

(a) the word “INSURANCE” in the Heading “POLICY OF LIFE INSURANCE”,

(b) the word “years” in the Heading “POLICY OF LIFE INSURANCE made for a period not exceeding two years”, and

(c) the word “Insurance” in the Heading “POLICY OF INSURANCE other than Life Insurance.”.

(10) Subject to the provisions of section 4 of the Act of 1891, any instrument which, in respect of a particular provision it contains, would, but for subsection (3), (4), (5) or (6), be chargeable to stamp duty under any of the Headings referred to in those subsections, shall not be chargeable with stamp duty in respect of that provision under any other Heading in the First Schedule.

206. —Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any conveyance or transfer of—

(a) units in a collective investment undertaking within the meaning of section 18 of the Finance Act, 1989 , or

(b) 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, or

(c) stocks or marketable securities of a company which is not registered in the State and which are dealt in and quoted on a recognised stock exchange:

Provided that such conveyance or transfer of stocks or marketable securities does not relate to—

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

(ii) any stocks or marketable securities of a company having a register in the State.

207. —(1) In this section—

“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 the purchaser;

“depositary” means a person who holds stocks or marketable securities, which are dealt in and quoted on a recognised stock exchange, in trust for or on behalf of holders of depositary receipts and who maintains a register of ownership of such depositary receipts;

“American depositary receipt” means an instrument—

(a) which acknowledges—

(i) that a depositary or a nominee acting on his behalf, holds stocks or marketable securities which are dealt in and quoted on a recognised stock exchange, and

(ii) that the holder of the instrument has rights in or in relation to such stocks or marketable securities including the right to receive such stocks or marketable securities from the depositary or his nominee,

and

(b) which—

(I) is dealt in and quoted on a recognised stock exchange which is situated in the United States of America, or

(II) represents stocks or marketable securities which are so dealt in and quoted;

“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;

“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, that is to say:

(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.

(2) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any instrument which is—

(a) a debt factoring agreement, or

(b) a swap agreement, or

(c) a forward agreement, or

(d) a financial futures agreement, or

(e) an option agreement, or

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

(g) a transfer of, or an agreement to transfer—

(i) any instrument specified in paragraphs (a) to (e), or a combination of any two or more such instruments, or

(ii) a lease, other than a lease to which any Heading in the First Schedule applies, or

(iii) an American depositary receipt:

Provided that such instrument, other than an instrument which is a transfer of, or an agreement to transfer, an American depositary receipt, does not relate to—

(I) immovable property situated in the State or any right over or interest in such property, or

(II) the stocks or marketable securities of a company having a register in the State.

(3) Notwithstanding that, in respect of any particular provision it contains, an instrument is exempt from stamp duty under the provisions of this section, 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.

208. —For the purpose of charging stamp duty, the risk to which a policy of insurance or a policy of life insurance relates shall be deemed to be located in the State—

(a) where the insurance relates either to buildings or to buildings and their contents, in so far as the contents are covered by the same insurance policy, if the property is situated in the State;

(b) where the insurance relates to vehicles of any kind, if such vehicles are registered in the State;

(c) in the case of policies of a duration of four months or less covering travel or holiday risks, if the policyholder took out the policy in the State;

(d) in any other case, if the policyholder has his habitual residence in the State.

209. —Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1 of the Act of 1891 and the provisions of the First Schedule, stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any instrument which is a conveyance, transfer, assignment, lease or licence of any immovable property situated outside the State:

Provided that such instrument does not relate to—

(a) any immovable property situated in the State, or any right over or interest in such property, or

(b) any stocks or marketable securities of a company having a register in the State.

210. —Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any instrument executed by or on behalf of—

(a) the National Treasury Management Agency, or

(b) the Minister for Finance in relation to a function exercised by him which is capable of being delegated to the said Agency under section 5 of the National Treasury Management Agency Act, 1990 ,

or on any disposition of such an instrument or of any right or interest created by such an instrument.

211. —The Stamp Duty (Variation) Order, 1991 (S.I. No. 277 of 1991), is hereby revoked.

212. —(1) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that section 114 of the Finance Act, 1990 , applies only in respect of property transferred from either or both spouses to either or both of them and which does not involve the transfer of any part of, or beneficial interest in, such property to another person.

(2) (a) Section 74 (2) of the Finance (1909-10) Act, 1910, shall not apply to a transfer to which section 114 of the Finance Act, 1990 , or section 14 of the Family Home Protection Act, 1976 , applies.

(b) This subsection shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 30th day of May, 1990.

213. —The Finance Act, 1991 , is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 104:

“104.—(1) Where—

(a) the consideration for a sale, or

(b) the average annual rent or consideration other than rent for a lease,

cannot be ascertained at the date of execution of a conveyance or lease and such consideration or rent would, if ascertainable, be chargeable with ad valorem duty in respect of such sale or lease, then stamp duty shall be charged on such sale or lease based on the amount or value of the consideration or rent that could be obtained from a purchaser or tenant paying full consideration or rent for such sale or lease.

(2) Where, in the case of a lease to which the provisions of subsection (1) would apply but for the fact that both the rent and the consideration other than rent payable cannot be ascertained, then stamp duty shall be charged on such lease based on the amount or value of the consideration other than rent that could be obtained from a tenant paying full consideration for such lease if the rent reserved in the lease was a nil amount.

(3) (a) The provisions of subsection (2) and (3) of section 56 of the Act of 1891 shall not apply to any instrument in relation to which subsection (1) applies.

(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any instrument in relation to which subsection (3) (a) of section 112 of the Finance Act, 1990 , applies.”.

214. — Section 45 of the Finance Act, 1972 , is hereby amended in subsection (1)—

(a) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) a child has been adopted under a foreign adoption (being a foreign adoption within the meaning of section 1 of the Adoption Act, 1991 ) which is deemed under the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1991, to have been effected by a valid adoption order, and”,

and

(b) by the substitution in paragraph (b) of “the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1991,” for “the Adoption Acts, 1952 and 1964,”.

215. —(1) The following provisions are hereby repealed, to the extent that they grant an exemption from stamp duty to transfers of any stocks or marketable securities of the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland, that is to say:

(a) section 7 of the pre-Union Irish Statute entitled “An Act to enable the proprietors of debentures issued by Government, to convert them into stock, transferable at the Bank of Ireland” (37 Geo. 3, c. 54) and passed in the year 1797, and

(b) section 4 of the Bank of Ireland Act, 1821.

(2) Except in the case of a transfer which relates to a purchase of stocks or marketable securities which occurred prior to the 27th day of April, 1992, the provisions of this section shall apply to any transfer of the stocks or marketable securities of the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland which occurs on or after that date.

216. —(1) No stamp duty shall be chargeable on any instrument under which any land, or any interest therein, easement, way-leave, water right or any other right is acquired in the Temple Bar area by Temple Bar Properties Limited, or any subsidiary thereof.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a company shall be deemed to be a subsidiary of Temple Bar Properties Limited if—

(a) Temple Bar Properties Limited—

(i) is a member of the company and controls the composition of at least half of the company's board of directors, or

(ii) holds at least half in nominal value of the company's equity share capital, or

(iii) holds at least half in nominal value of the company's shares carrying voting rights (other than voting rights which arise only in specified circumstances),

or

(b) the company is a subsidiary of any company which is a subsidiary of Temple Bar Properties Limited.

(3) In this section “the Temple Bar area” means “the area” as described in the First Schedule in the Temple Bar Area Renewal and Development Act, 1991 .

(4) Section 18 of the Temple Bar Area Renewal and Development Act, 1991 , is hereby repealed.

(5) This section shall have effect with respect to instruments executed on or after the 15th day of July, 1991.

217. — Section 44 (as amended by section 71 of the Finance Act, 1989 ) of the Finance Act, 1970 , is hereby amended by the insertion of “, Bord Gáis Éireann” after “Bord Telecom Éireann”.