Amendments to Subsidiary Legislation

L.N. 117 of 2019

DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ACT

(CAP. 364)

Amendments to Subsidiary Legislation

(Duty on Documents and Transfers Act) Order, 2019

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by articles 22 and 22A of

the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act, the Minister for Finance

has made the following order:-

The title of this order is the Amendments to Subsidiary

Legislation (Duty on Documents and Transfers Act) Order, 2019.

This order amends subsidiary legislation enacted in terms

of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act, hereinafter referred to as

"the principal Act".

Nothing in this order shall affect the validity of anything

heretofore lawfully done, or any right, obligation or liability heretofore

acquired, accrued or incurred, under any of the enactments mentioned

in this order.

Part I

This Part amends and shall be read and construed as one

with the Duty on Documents and Transfers Rules, hereinafter in this

Part referred to as "the principal rules".

In sub-rule (1) of rule 9 of the principal rules the words

"four years from the payment of the duty." shall be substituted by the

words "four years from the payment of the duty:"; and immediately

thereafter there shall be added the following new proviso

"Provided that in the case of claims for refund of duty made

under article 62(1)(b) of the Act, the period of four years, or any

other established period, shall start to run from the date on which

the court judgment becomes a res judicata." .

Rule 10 of the principal rules shall be substituted by the

following

(1) Any transferor or transferee to a

promise of sale or of a transfer of immovable property or

promise of sale

of any real right thereon shall be bound to give the notice

referred to in article 3(6) of the Act, and shall for this

property or any

purpose engage a notary public or advocate to give the

said notice, provided that such notary or advocate is

given all the information required for notification

Provided that where the notary or advocate is

engaged to pay the provisional duty, if any is due, the

transferee shall provide such notary or advocate with the

necessary funds to pay such provisional duty

Provided further that no notice shall be given,

and no payment of provisional duty shall be made where

the Housing Authority or the Government of Malta is the

transferor or where the Water Services Corporation or

Lands Authority or the Housing Authority is the

transferee.

(2) The notice shall be made by electronic

submission, through the web portal established for the

purpose by the Commissioner, within twenty-one (21)

days from the date on which the promise of sale or

promise of transfer is made and the relative payment of

provisional duty shall be made within ten (10) days from

the date on which approval is given by the Office of the

Commissioner or twenty-one (21) days from the date on

which the promise of sale or promise of transfer is made,

whichever date is latest

Provided that where the notice of a promise of

sale or transfer or notice of the extension mentioned in

sub-regulation (5) cannot be made through the web portal

due to a technical issue resulting from the portal itself,

and such technical issue is acknowledged by the

Commissioner, notice shall be given within three (3)

working days from when the said technical issue is

resolved, unless any other form of notification is accepted

and acknowledged by the Commissioner.

(3) The Commissioner shall not accept payment of

the relative provisional duty, if any is due, before the said

notice has been submitted in accordance with sub-

regulation (2). In the case of notification of a promise of

sale or a promise of transfer where no provisional duty is

due, notification shall be deemed to have been made

within the prescribed time-frame if a correct submission is

made within the prescribed time-frame, notwithstanding

that the notice would not yet have been approved by the

Commissioner. In the case of a notification of a promise

of sale or a promise of transfer where provisional duty is

due, notification shall be deemed to have been made

within the prescribed time-frame if both the notification

and the payment are made within the prescribed time-

frames, notwithstanding that the receipt for payment

would not yet have been issued by the Commissioner.

(4) The Commissioner shall not accept such notice

if not submitted at the Office of the Commissioner within

twenty-one (21) days following that on which the promise

of a sale or promise of a transfer of immovable property

or any real right thereon is made

Provided that where the last day permitted for

submission falls on a Saturday or a public holiday as

established in the National Holidays and other Public

Holidays Act, that day shall be deemed to fall on the first

working day, other than a Saturday, following the said

Saturday or public holiday.

(5) An extension of the validity period of a

promise of sale or promise of a transfer of an immovable

property or a real right thereon shall also be notified by

the transferor or transferee to the Commissioner within

twenty-one (21) days following the date thereof by

electronic submission through the web portal established

for the purpose by the Commissioner, and such transferor

or transferee shall engage a notary public or advocate to

give notice of the said extension, provided that such

notary or advocate is given all the information required

for notification.

(6) The provisional payment of duty relating to the

promise of a sale or of a transfer of immovable property

or any real right thereon shall be set off against the duty

chargeable in terms of articles 32 and 40 of the Act

Provided that any obligation to attach a receipt

of provisional payment to the subsequent notarial deed of

sale or transfer of immovable property or any real right

thereon is deemed to no longer be applicable and to have

never been applicable in all cases of notifications of

promises of sale or promises of transfer made through the

established web portal.

(7) The Commissioner shall be authorized to

request additional information or the production of

supporting documents he may deem necessary from time

to time.

(8) Claims for refund of any duty paid

provisionally in terms of article 3(6) of the Act shall be

made in writing by a transferee, or his representative, and

shall not be considered by the Commissioner unless he is

satisfied that such promise of a sale or promise of a

transfer of immovable property or any real right thereon

has lapsed or that both parties have rescinded same.

(9) No notice shall be given, and no payment of

provisional duty shall be made, in the case of a unilateral

obligation to transfer immovable property or any real

right thereon, commonly referred to as "a right of first

refusal", or in the case of a right of renewal of a temporary

emphyteutical concession

Provided that if the parties enter into a promise

of sale or promise of a transfer of the said immovable

property, or any real right thereon, notification in terms of

article 3(6) of the Act shall be required for its validity.

(10) The provisions of this rule shall apply from the

st

1 January 2019.".

7. (a)

The Third Schedule to the principal rules shall be Repeals the

(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) shall be deemed to

have come into force on the 1 st January 2019.

Part II

8. This Part amends and shall be read and construed as one Amendment to

with the Duty on the Acquisition of the Second Immovable Property to the

be used as Sole Residence (Exemption) Order, hereinafter referred to the

as "the principal order".

B

9. (a) In paragraph (e) of article 2 of the principal order,

Amends article

2 of the

both instances of the words "in the case where the replacement

principal order.

property is acquired before transferring the replaced property" shall be

deleted.

(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) shall be deemed to

have come into force on the 10th October 2017.

€0.45