240 tal-2020

L.N. 240 of 2020

DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ACT

(CAP. 364)

Exemption of Duty in Terms of Article 23

(Amendment) Order, 2020

BY VIRTUE of the powers vested in him by article 23 of the

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

Financial Services , has made the following Order:-

The title of this Order is the Exemption of Duty in Terms of

Article 23 (Amendment) Order, 2020, and this Order shall be read and

construed as one with the Exemption of Duty in Terms of Article 23

Order, hereinafter referred to as "the principal Order".

Article 3 of the principal Order shall be amended as

(a) the words "before the 1st January 2020," thereof,

shall be substituted by the words "before the 15th October

2019,"; and

(b) immediately after the second proviso thereof, there

shall be added the following new proviso

"Provided also that in respect of transfers of property

made on or after the 9th June 2020, for the purpose of

determining whether the property is the first immovable

property acquired inter vivos by such person, the previous

acquisition by such person of an undivided share of

immovable property representing less than twenty-five per

cent (25%) of the real value of the whole of such property,

shall not be taken into account, so however that this proviso

shall not apply if such person has been granted the relief

provided under article 32(4)(a) of the Duty on Documents

and Transfers Act or under this article:".

Immediately after article 4 of the principal order, there shall Adds new

be added the following new article

(1) In the case of a transfer inter vivos of

immovable property or any real right over such property

made on or after the 9th June 2020 but before the 1st

June 2020 and

April 2021, the duty otherwise chargeable in terms of the

2021. Duty on Documents and Transfers Act on the first four

hundred thousand euro (€400,000) of the amount or value

of the consideration for the transfer of the property or the

value of the property, whichever is the higher, shall be

chargeable at the rate of one euro and fifty cents (€1.50)

for every one hundred euro (€100.00) or part thereof

Provided that this article shall only apply

where all the following conditions are satisfied

(a) the person acquiring the property does

not require a permit for the purposes of the

Immovable Property (Acquisition by Non-

Residents) Act;

(b) notice of the final deed in relation to

such transfer is given to the Commissioner for

Revenue by not later than the 30th April 2021; and

(c) no relief is claimed under article 32C of

the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act on the

same transfer.

(2) In the case of an acquisition of an undivided

share of property, the benefit shall apply on a pro rata

basis according to the share of the property being

acquired.

(3) (a) where the Commissioner is of the

opinion that two or more transfers form part of a

structured arrangement, he may order, within five years

from the date of the last of the said transfers, that the

exemption granted under this article shall not apply to

those transfers and in such a case the duty shall be

chargeable on each of those transfers in accordance with

the provisions of the Duty on Documents and Transfers

Act without reference to this article;

(b) the difference between the duty

chargeable as provided in sub-article (3)(a) and the duty

already paid shall become payable by not later than thirty

(30) days following the service of a notice on the

transferee;

(c) a person served with a notice made under

sub-article (3)(a) shall have the same rights of objection

and appeal in accordance with the provisions of the Duty

on Documents and Transfers Act as if that notice were an

assessment made under article 54 of that Act;

(d) for the purpose of this article, "structured

arrangement" means two or more acquisitions of portions

of the same property made by the same person within a

period of six months which are executed by two or more

deeds, rather than by one single deed, solely or mainly for

the purpose of inflating the benefit of the exemption that

would otherwise be available in terms of this article;

(e) for the purpose of paragraph (d),

"portions of the same property" includes

(i) adjacent parcels of land;

(ii) portions of developed property or

of property under construction that are not

identifiable as separate units;

(iii) the airspace and the property

beneath it;

(iv) portions of the airspace overlying

the same property;

(f) for the purpose of paragraph (d),

acquisitions made by bodies of persons that are directly or

indirectly controlled and beneficially owned as to more

than fifty per cent (50%) by the same persons shall be

deemed to be acquisitions made by the same person.

(4) The provisions of this article shall be deemed

to have come into force on the 9 th June 2020.".

€0.27