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13 1993

FINANCE ACT, 1993

PART IV

Stamp Duties

Amendment of section 112 (stamp duty on transfers of building land) of Finance Act, 1990.

100. Section 112 of the Finance Act, 1990 , is hereby amended as respects a conveyance, transfer or lease of any land executed on or after the 25th day of February, 1993—

(a) by the substitution in subsection (1) of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (a) and (b):

“(a) in the case of such sale, under the Heading ‘CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any property other than stocks or marketable securities, or a policy of insurance, or a policy of life insurance.’ in the First Schedule (as amended by the Finance Act, 1970 , and subsequent enactments) to the Stamp Act, 1891, on an amount which is the greater of—

(i) any consideration paid in respect of the sale of that land, and

(ii) 25 per cent. of the aggregate of the consideration at subparagraph (i) and the consideration paid, or to be paid, in respect of the building of the dwelling-house or apartment on that land;

(b) in the case of such lease, under the Heading ‘LEASE’ in the First Schedule (as amended by the Finance Act, 1970 , and subsequent enactments) to the Stamp Act, 1891, on an amount which is the greater of—

(i) any consideration (other than rent) paid in respect of the lease of that land, and

(ii) 25 per cent. of the aggregate of the consideration at subparagraph (i) and the consideration paid, or to be paid, in respect of the building of the dwelling-house or apartment on that land.”,

and

(b) by the substitution in paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of “such aggregate consideration” for “the aggregate consideration which is chargeable under subsection (1)”.

Exemption from stamp duty of certain instruments.

101. —(1) Subject to subsection (2), stamp duty shall not be chargeable on—

(a) a shared ownership lease, or

(b) an instrument whereby the lessee of a shared ownership lease exercises the right referred to in section 2 (1) (c) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 ,

other than such a lease or instrument where such lease was granted upon the erection of a house which at that time exceeded the maximum floor area then standing specified in regulations made under section 4 (2) (b) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 .

(2) The provisions of subsection (1) shall apply where—

(a) it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the instrument whereby the lessor acquired his interest in the house has been duly stamped, and

(b) the shared ownership lease concerned has been granted by an appropriate person.

(3) In this section—

appropriate person” means—

(a) a person who holds a licence granted by the Central Bank of Ireland under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971 , or under section 10 of the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1989 , or

(b) where there are subsisting regulations under section 4 of the ACC Bank Act, 1992 , for the supervision by the Central Bank of Ireland of the ACC Bank public limited company, that bank, or

(c) where there are subsisting regulations under section 3 of the ICC Bank Act, 1992 , for the supervision by the Central Bank of Ireland of the ICC Bank public limited company, that bank, or

(d) a building society which has been incorporated under the Building Societies Act, 1989 , or which is deemed by virtue of section 124 (2) of that Act to be so incorporated, or

(e) the holder of an authorisation for the purposes of the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Regulations, 1976 (S.I. No. 115 of 1976), as amended by the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1991 (S.I. No. 142 of 1991), or

(f) the holder of an authorisation granted under the European Communities (Life Assurance) Regulations, 1984 (S.I. No. 57 of 1984), or

(g) a body approved of by the Minister for the Environment for the purposes of section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 , or

(h) the National Building Agency Limited, or

(i) a company within the meaning of section 2 of the Companies Act, 1963 , which the Minister for the Environment has certified to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to be a company incorporated with the principal object of providing assistance on a non-profit making basis with a view to enabling persons to acquire housing for themselves, or

(j) a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 to 1978, in respect of which the Minister for the Environment has certified to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to be a society established with the principal object of providing assistance on a non-profit making basis with a view to enabling persons to acquire housing for themselves;

shared ownership lease” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 .

(4) The provisions of this section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of September, 1992.

Amendment of section 203 (stamp duty in respect of cash cards) of Finance Act, 1992.

102. Section 203 of the Finance Act, 1992 , is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “bank”:

“‘bank’ means—

(a) a person who holds a licence granted by the Central Bank of Ireland under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971 , or under section 10 of the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1989 , or

(b) where there are subsisting regulations under section 4 of the ACC Bank Act, 1992 , for the supervision by the Central Bank of Ireland of the ACC Bank public limited company, that bank, or,

(c) where there are subsisting regulations under section 3 of the ICC Bank Act, 1992 , for the supervision by the Central Bank of Ireland of the ICC Bank public limited company, that bank;”,

and

(ii) by the deletion in the definition of “building society” of “, on the 15th day of June in any year (being the year 1992 or a subsequent year),”,

and

(b) by the addition of the following subsection after subsection (9):

“(10) Where a promoter changes its accounting period and, as a result, stamp duty under this section would not be chargeable or payable in the year 1993 or in any subsequent year (in this section referred to as ‘the relevant year’), then the following provisions shall apply:

(a) duty shall be chargeable and payable in the relevant year as if the accounting period had not been changed,

(b) duty shall also be chargeable and payable within one month of the date of the end of the accounting period ending in the relevant year, and

(c) the duty chargeable and payable by virtue of paragraph (b) shall, subject to the proviso contained in subsection (2), be chargeable and payable in respect of cash cards issued at any time by the promoter and which are valid at any time during the period from the due date as determined by paragraph (a) to the due date as determined by paragraph (b).”.

Amendment of section 92 (levy on certain premiums of insurance) of Finance Act, 1982.

103. —(1) Subject to subsection (2), section 92 of the Finance Act, 1982 , is hereby amended as respects so much of the assessable amount as is comprised of premiums received in respect of offers of insurance or notices of renewal of insurance issued by an insurer on or after the 25th day of February, 1993, by the substitution in subsection (3) of “two per cent.” for “one per cent.”.

(2) This section shall apply to so much of the assessable amount as is comprised of premiums received on or after the 1st day of May, 1993, without regard to the date of such offer or notice.

Exchanges.

104. —(1) In this section “the First Schedule” means the First Schedule (as amended by the Finance Act, 1970 , and subsequent enactments) to the Stamp Act, 1891.

(2) Any instrument executed on or after the passing of this Act and effecting a conveyance or transfer of any immovable property in exchange for any other property, wherever situated, whether movable or immovable and with or without the payment of any consideration, shall be chargeable in respect of such conveyance or transfer under the Heading “CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any property other than stocks or marketable securities, or a policy of insurance, or a policy of life insurance.” in the First Schedule, with the substitution of the value of immovable property situated in the State thereby conveyed or transferred for the amount or value of the consideration for the sale.

(3) The First Schedule is hereby amended by the substitution in the Heading “EXCHANGE — instruments effecting.” of “ section 104 of the Finance Act, 1993” for “ section 12 of the Finance Act, 1953 ”.

(4) Section 73 of the Stamp Act, 1891, shall not apply to any exchange to which this section applies.

(5) Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1953 , is hereby repealed.

Amendment of section 34 (stamp duty on certain conveyances and transfers) of Finance Act, 1978.

105. Section 34 of the Finance Act, 1978 , is hereby amended in subsection (5) by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (b):

“(b) any annuity or other periodic payment 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, or

(c) any right of residence, support, maintenance, or other right of a similar nature which the property is subject to or charged with, except where such rights are reserved in favour of the transferor or the spouse of the transferor and in any such case regard shall be had to such rights only to the extent that their value does not exceed 10 per cent. of the unencumbered value of the property.”.

Exemption from stamp duty of certain loan capital and securities.

106. —(1) In this section “loan capital” means any debenture stock, bonds or funded debt, by whatever name known, of a company or other body corporate or any capital raised by a company or other body corporate which is borrowed or has the character of borrowed money, whether it is in the form of stock or in any other form.

(2) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on the issue or transfer of—

(a) loan capital which—

(i) is dealt in and quoted on a recognised stock exchange,

(ii) does not carry a right of conversion into—

(I) the stocks or marketable securities of a company having a register in the State, or

(II) any stocks or marketable securities which are not dealt in and quoted on a recognised stock exchange,

including loan capital having such a right,

(iii) does not carry rights of the same kind as shares in the capital of a company, including rights such as voting rights, a share in the profits or a share in the surplus upon liquidation,

(iv) is redeemable within 30 years of the date of issue and not thereafter,

(v) is issued for a price which is not less than 90 per cent. of its nominal value, and

(vi) does not carry a right to a sum in respect of repayment or interest which is related to certain movements in an index or indices specified in any instrument or other document relating to the loan capital,

and

(b) securities issued by a qualifying company within the meaning of section 31 of the Finance Act, 1991 , where the money raised by such securities is used in the course of its business.