710 / 822
forms of certificate, but suggested pre
cedents are given hereunder.
(/;)
Contracts completed before October zy/Ii.
A separate written notice must be given to
the Revenue Commissioners
in respect of'
each contract. Provided that the Revenue
Commissioners are satisfied that the transaction
is within Section 13
(8) the conveyance or
transfer will be stamped at the lower rate
irrespective of its date. Such conveyance must
be lodged for adjudication before stamping.
The notice should state the date of and parties to
the contract, the amount of the consideration,
and the description of the property.
Service
may be effected by registered post, addressed to
the Secretary, Revenue Commissioners, Dublin
Castle.
A case in which a contract has be
come binding on both vendor and purchaser
before Oct. 29th, without any memorandum in
writing,
e.g.,
by part performance, would seem
to fall within the terms of Section 13 (8)
(a),
and the Solicitor for the purchaser should give
notice to the Revenue Commissioners before
December ist, stating the circumstances.
(f)
Contracts completed between October zyfb and
December ist.
Attention is drawn to Section 14 (4) of the
Stamp Act, 1891, which is as follows :—
" Save as aforesaid, an instrument executed
in any part of the United Kingdom or relating,
wheresoever executed, to any property situate,
or to any matter or thing done or to be done,
in any part of the United Kingdom, shall not,
except in criminal proceedings, be given in
evidetice or be available for any purpose
whatever, unless it is duly stamped in ac
cordance with the
law in force at the time when
it was first executed."
It is not proposed in the
Finance (No. 2) Bill, 1947,
to repeal this
sub-section and it is thought, although this
has not been officially confirmed, that the
Revenue Commissioners will take the view
that any conveyance first executed on a date
prior to December ist should be stamped
at the rate prescribed by law on that date,
namely the old rate of duty, even where the
deed is presented for stamping after December
ist. Apart from Section 14 (4) of the Stamp
Act, 1891, the practice of the Revenue Com
missioners has always been that deeds will be
regarded as duly stamped if presented for
stamping, or lodged for adjudication within
the prescribed time and it is understood that
the practice will be followed in connection
with Section 13 of the Finance Bill. As a
measure of precaution, solicitors should en
deavour to have deeds presented for stamping,
or, where neces^ry, lodged for adjudication
before December ist.
(d~) Penalties.
In the case of deeds which can be stamped
at the 5 per cent, rate failure to stamp within
thirty days will be dealt with under the ordinary
practice, and the Revenue Commissioners
have
power
to
mitigate
the
penalty.
In the case of a deed liable to the higher rate
of 25 per cent, and which is not properly
stamped within thirty days after execution,
a sum equal to twice the amount of the duty
at the higher rate will thereupon be a debt
due to the Minister for Finance by the grantee
or transferee and the powers of the Revenue
Commissioners
to mitigate or remit such
penalty will be confined to cases where the
instrument is stamped not later than three
months after execution.
(e) Conveyances or transfers to Irish citizens and other
persons or bodies coming within Section
13 (4)
(a).
In order to be stamped at the rate of 5 per
cent the instrument must contain a certificate
in the form mentioned in Section 13 (4) (£).
It is
thought that under the wording of
Section 13 (4) the certificate as to the status
or residence of the transferee is not conclusive
evidence of the facts stated therein and that
in future a solicitor for a purchaser would
have to require evidence in respect of each
transfer or conveyance stamped at the rate
of 5 per cent, that the transferee was in fact
one of the persons or bodies described
in Section 13 (4)
(a).
This in practice will
mean that every such transfer or conveyance
on sale will have to be adjudged duly stamped.
As this would be impossible in practice, the
Council have suggested to the Revenue Com
missioners that a new sub-section should be
introduced making the certificate as to the
status of the transferee conclusive evidence of
its contents in favour of a subsequent pur
chaser or transferee. Unless this suggestion
is adopted it would seem that on every future
sale the solicitor for the purchaser will have
to raise special requisitions as to the stamp
duty in respect of every deed stamped at less
than the higher rate of 2 5 per cent.
(/)
Deeds executed abroad.
The position is governed by Section 15 (2)
(a
)
of the Stamp Act, 1891, which will not be
affected by the Bill,