Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 16/1996

Read the first time on 21st May 1996.

An Act to amend the Stamp Duties Act (Chapter 312 of the 1985 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Stamp Duties (Amendment) Act 1996 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Stamp Duties Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by deleting the definitions of “bill of exchange”, “charterparty”, “power of attorney”, “promissory note” and “receipt”;

(b)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “marketable security”, the following definition:

“ “Master Plan” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Planning Act [Cap. 232];”; and

(c)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “proper officer”, the following definition:

“ “residential property” means —

(a)	any house, building or other premises or any part thereof which is permitted to be used pursuant to the Planning Act [Cap. 232] or any other written law as a dwelling-house or which is lawfully so used; or
(b)	any land zoned in the Master Plan for solely residential purposes or for mixed purposes, one of which shall be residential,

and shall include any estate or interest therein;”.

Amendment of section 4

3. Section 4(1) of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting paragraph (b); and
(b)	by deleting the words “(other than a promissory note)” in the first line of paragraph (c).

Amendment of section 15

4. Section 15(1) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “article 16(a) or (b)” in the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth lines and substituting the words “article 10(a) or (b)”.

Repeal of section 20

5. Section 20 of the principal Act is repealed.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 22

6. Section 22 of the principal Act is repealed and the following sections substituted therefor:

“Contracts, etc., to be chargeable as conveyances on sale

22.—(1) Every contract or agreement for the sale of —

(a)	any equitable estate or interest in any property whatsoever; or
(b)	any estate or interest in any property except property situate outside Singapore or goods, wares or merchandise, or stock or marketable securities, or any ship or vessel, or part interest, share or property of or in any ship or vessel,

shall be charged with the same ad valorem duty, payable by the purchaser, as if it were an actual conveyance on sale of the estate, interest or property contracted or agreed to be sold.

(2) Where such ad valorem duty has been paid in accordance with subsection (1) and, before having obtained a conveyance or transfer of the property, the purchaser assigns his equitable estate or interest in that property or enters into any contract or agreement for the sale of that property, the assignment, contract or agreement shall be charged with ad valorem duty in respect of the consideration moving from the sub-purchaser of that estate, interest or property as if it were an actual conveyance on sale to the sub-purchaser.

(3) Where any purchaser or sub-purchaser has paid ad valorem duty upon any assignment, contract or agreement in accordance with subsection (1) or (2), the conveyance or transfer made to the purchaser or sub-purchaser, as the case may be, shall be chargeable with a duty of $10.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), where a vendor of any property conveys or transfers the same or part thereof by direction —

(a)	to any person other than the original purchaser; or
(b)	to the original purchasers in shares other than as specified in the contract or agreement between the vendor and the original purchasers,

such conveyance or transfer shall set forth the consideration for every direction or agreement leading thereto, and the conveyance or transfer shall be charged with additional duty, payable by the transferee or, in the case of paragraph (b), the original purchasers, equal in amount to the ad valorem duty which would have been payable under this Act in respect of every such direction or agreement as if it had been a conveyance on or contract for the sale of such property.

(5) Subsection (4) shall not apply where every direction or agreement referred to in subsection (4) has been duly stamped as provided by this Act.

(6) Where more than one contract or agreement for sale is executed by a purchaser in respect of the same sale of the same property, only one such contract or agreement for sale of the property shall be chargeable with ad valorem duty under this section and any other contract or agreement for the same sale of the same property shall be chargeable with a duty of $10.

(7) Subject to subsection (8), the ad valorem duty paid under this section upon any contract or agreement for the sale of property, shall, on application, be refunded by the Commissioner where the contract or agreement is later rescinded or annulled on the ground that —

(a)	the vendor is unable to prove his title to the property; or
(b)	the purchaser, being a foreign person, is unable to obtain approval under the Residential Property Act [Cap. 274] to acquire or purchase the property.

(8) The refund under subsection (7) shall be made if and only if —

(a)

the application for refund is made by the person by whom the instrument was solely or first executed within —

(i)	6 months after the date of the stamp, or in the case of an executed instrument, after the date of the instrument;
(ii)	if the instrument is not dated, 6 months after the execution thereof; or
(iii)	such further time as the Commissioner may determine in the case of any instrument sent abroad for execution or when in unavoidable circumstances any instrument for which another has been substituted cannot be produced within that period; and

(b)

in the case of an executed instrument no legal proceeding has been commenced in which the instrument could or would have been given or offered in evidence, and that the instrument is given up to be cancelled.

(9) This section shall apply only to contracts or agreements made on or after 15th May 1996 for the sale of any estate, interest or property.

Contracts, etc., for sale of residential property

22A.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, every contract or agreement for the sale of any residential property which is chargeable with duty under section 22 shall be charged with additional ad valorem duty (the amounts of which are indicated in the First Schedule), payable by the vendor of the property, in respect of the consideration for that sale if —

(a)	the contract or agreement was made on or after 15th May 1996; and
(b)	the residential property is being disposed of under that contract or agreement before the expiration of 3 years from the date on which the vendor of the property acquired that property.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, every instrument made on or after 15th May 1996 —

(a)	which is a conveyance or transfer operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos of any residential property and is chargeable with duty under section 16 as if it were a conveyance or transfer on sale of that property;
(b)	whereby any residential property is transferred, by way of distribution in specie upon voluntary winding-up of a private company, to a person in his capacity as shareholder in that company; or
(c)	which is a lease or an agreement for lease of residential property for 60 years or more,

shall be treated for the purpose of this section as a contract or an agreement for sale of such residential property and chargeable with the same additional ad valorem duty under subsection (1), payable by the transferor or lessor, as the case may be, in respect of the value of the residential property so conveyed or transferred or, in the case of a lease or an agreement for a lease made for any consideration, in respect of that consideration, if the residential property is being disposed of under that instrument before the expiration of 3 years from the date on which the transferor or lessor, as the case may be, acquired that property.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a conveyance or transfer of shares in a private company made on or after 15th May 1996, whether —

(a)	on a sale;
(b)	by way of gift, release or settlement; or
(c)	pursuant to a declaration of trust where the beneficial interest in the shares passes,

before the expiration of 3 years from the date on which the vendor or transferor of those shares acquired those shares shall be treated for the purpose of this section as a contract or an agreement for the sale of any residential property by the vendor or transferor of those shares and charged with the same ad valorem duty under subsection (1) in respect of the consideration of the sale or, in the case of transfers or conveyances under paragraph (b) or (c), in respect of the value of those shares if, at the time of the conveyance or transfer —

(i)	not less than 75% of the market value of the total tangible assets of the company as at the end of the accounting period of the company immediately before the date of the conveyance or transfer comprise that residential property; or
(ii)	the private company beneficially owns not less than 75% of the issued share capital of another private company, of which not less than 75% of the market value of the total tangible assets of the other company as at the end of the accounting period of that other company immediately before the date of the conveyance or transfer comprise that residential property.

(4) Where any contract or agreement for the sale of residential property is chargeable with additional ad valorem duty under this section (including any instrument which is chargeable in like manner as if it were such a contract or an agreement), and the vendors or transferors of the property are joint owners of that property, the duty payable by each vendor or transferor under this section shall be a proportion of the duty commensurate with their respective shares in that residential property; and for this purpose, joint tenants of any property shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have equal shares in the property.

(5) For the purposes of determining the additional duty chargeable upon a contract or an agreement for sale of residential property under this section (including any instrument which is chargeable in like manner as if it were such a contract or an agreement), the consideration for that sale or the value of the residential property, whichever is applicable shall be reduced by such amount as the Commissioner considers to be attributable to such part of the property which is lawfully used for purposes other than residential purposes; and the decision of the Commissioner shall be final.

(6) Section 22(3) and (6) shall apply to a vendor or transferor of residential property as if —

(a)	the references in those provisions to purchaser or sub-purchaser are substituted with references to such vendor or transferor; and
(b)	the references in those provisions to duty under that section are substituted with references to the additional duty under this section,

and where any duty paid under section 22 in respect of any contract or agreement is refunded under that section, any additional duty paid under this section in respect of that same contract or agreement shall likewise be refunded.

(7) Subject to subsections (8) and (9), where any residential property or any share in a private company is acquired or disposed of —

(a)	under contract, the time at which the acquisition or disposal is made shall be the time the contract is made (and not, if different, the time at which the property or share is conveyed or transferred), and if the contract is conditional on the exercise of an option, the time at which the acquisition or disposal is made shall be the time when the option is exercised;
(b)	by way of gift, release or settlement or under a declaration of trust, the time at which the acquisition or disposal is made shall be the time when the property or share or any beneficial interest therein passes; or
(c)	by transmission on death or by any other means, the time at which the acquisition or disposal is made shall be the time the property or share or any interest therein is vested or divested, as the case may be, by operation of law or otherwise.

(8) In this section —

(a)	a reference to a private company is a reference to a company other than a company the shares in which are listed on any stock exchange in Singapore or elsewhere;
(b)	a reference to acquisition or disposal of any residential property or any share in a private company shall not include a reference to a conveyance or transfer by way of security of any property (including a re-transfer on redemption of the security);
(c)	a reference to disposal of any residential property or any share in a private company shall not include a reference to a disposal as a result of bankruptcy, dissolution, receivership or winding-up of the owner of the property or shares, other than a voluntary winding-up; and
(d)	a reference to a person acquiring any residential property shall include a reference to a situation where, subsequent to his acquisition of any land, building or part thereof or any interest therein, the land is zoned in the Master Plan for residential purposes or the building or part thereof is permitted under the Planning Act [Cap. 232] to be used as a dwelling-house, and the time at which the acquisition is made shall be the time when the zoning in the Master Plan is altered in such manner or when the permission under that Act is granted, as the case may be.

(9) The Minister may by rules published in the Gazette prescribe a different time at which residential property or any share in a private company is acquired or disposed of under any particular class of instruments or any instruments executed by or in favour of any person or class of persons.

(10) Nothing in this section shall require payment of duty in respect of any conveyance or transfer on sale or any contract or agreement for a sale of residential property by —

(a)	any public authority established by written law pursuant to the exercise of its functions and duties; or
(b)	any licensed housing developer in accordance with provisions of the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act [Cap. 130].”.

Amendment of section 24

7. The principal Act is amended by renumbering section 24 as subsection (1) of that section, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsection:

“(2) For the avoidance of doubt, every instrument or deed of declaration referred to in section 66A of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act [Cap. 61] or section 53 of the Land Titles Act [Cap. 157], and every instrument filed in the land registry by a personal representative declaring himself to be absolute owner of any land, shall be charged as a conveyance or transfer of property.”.

Amendment of section 36

8. Section 36(1) of the principal Act is amended by deleting paragraph (g).

Amendment of section 43

9. Section 43 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “, and not being a promissory note,”.

Amendment of section 46

10. Section 46(1) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “not being a receipt or promissory note,” in the first and second lines of paragraph (a).

Amendment of section 52

11. Section 52 of the principal Act is amended by deleting paragraph (b) of the proviso.

Amendment of section 57

12. Section 57 of the principal Act is amended by deleting paragraphs (d) and (e).

Amendment of section 64

13. Section 64(1) of the principal Act is amended by deleting paragraph (a).

New section 72A

14. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 72, the following section:

“Power to declare agents

72A.—(1) The Commissioner may, by notice in writing, declare any person to be the agent of any other person for the purposes of this Act, and may require the agent so declared to pay any duty due under this Act from any moneys (including sale proceeds, rents, bank balances, pensions, salary, wages or any other remuneration) which, at the date of receipt of the notice or at any time during a period of 90 days thereafter, may be held by him for or due by him to the other person.

(2) In default of payment by an agent declared under subsection (1), the duty may be sued for by way of a specially endorsed writ of summons in the name of the Commissioner who shall be entitled to all costs allowed by law against the person thereto.

(3) For the purposes of this section, the Commissioner may require any person to give him information as to any moneys, funds or other assets which may be held by him for, or of any moneys due by him to, any other person.

(4) Where any person declared by the Commissioner to be the agent of any other person under subsection (1) is aggrieved by such declaration, he may, by notice in writing to the Commissioner within 14 days after the date of the declaration, or within such further time as the Commissioner in his discretion may allow, object to the declaration.

(5) The Commissioner shall examine the objection and may cancel, vary or reconfirm the declaration.

(6) Any person making any payment to the Commissioner under this section shall be deemed to have been acting under the authority of the person by whom any duty is payable and is indemnified in respect of such payment.

(7) For the purposes of payment of any duty due from any moneys referred to in subsection (1) in a joint account in any bank or from the proceeds of sale of any immovable property owned by 2 or more persons as joint owners, the following provisions shall apply:

(a)

the person declared by the Commissioner under subsection (1) to be the agent of any person who is an owner of such moneys shall —

(i)	within 14 days of the receipt of the notice under subsection (1), send a notice by registered post addressed to every owner of such moneys at the address last known to the agent informing the owner of such declaration; and
(ii)	retain such amount of the moneys as is presumed under paragraph (b) to be owned by the person from whom the duty is due and, subject to paragraph (e), within 42 days of the receipt of the notice under subsection (1) pay over the duty due from such amount to the Commissioner;

(b)

it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the holders of a joint account at any bank shall have equal share of the moneys in the account as to the date of receipt of the notice under subsection (1) and that the owners of any immovable property shall share the proceeds of sale of the property equally;

(c)

any owner of such moneys who objects to the share presumed under paragraph (b) shall give notice of his objection in writing to the person declared to be the agent under subsection (1) within 28 days of the receipt of the notice of the agent under paragraph (a)(i), or within such further period as the Commissioner in his discretion may allow, and furnish proof as to his share of the moneys;

(d)

where an objection under paragraph (c) has been received, the person so declared to be the agent shall —

(i)	retain the amount of such moneys referred to in paragraph (a)(ii) until such time as the Commissioner by notice under paragraph (e) informs him of his decision on the objection; and
(ii)	inform the Commissioner of the objection within 7 days of the receipt of the objection; and

(e)

the Commissioner shall consider the objection and by notice in writing inform the person declared to be the agent of his decision and the agent shall pay over any duty due from the share of the moneys decided by the Commissioner as the amount, not exceeding the amount presumed under paragraph (b) to be the share of the person by whom the duty is payable, held by him for or due by him to the person.

(8) For the purpose of this section —

“duty” includes any penalty or any other money which a person is liable to pay to the Commissioner under this Act;

“joint account” means any account in the names of 2 or more persons but excludes any partnership account, trust account and any account where a minor is one of the account holders.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 73, and new section 73A

15. Section 73 of the principal Act is repealed and the following sections substituted therefor:

“Commissioner may require declaration, etc.

73. The Commissioner may require any person to produce evidence by way of statutory declaration or otherwise for any purpose connected with the administration of this Act.

Commissioner may impound instrument

73A. The Commissioner may impound any instrument presented to him for stamping where he is of the opinion that it has not been duly stamped or it has been insufficiently stamped, and detain such instrument until the proper amount of stamp duty thereon has been paid.”.

Miscellaneous repeals

16. Sections 35, 44, 54, 63, 65 and 66 of the principal Act are repealed.

Miscellaneous amendments

17. The principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the word “receipt,” in the fourth line of section 8(1);

(b)

by deleting the words “(not being a promissory note or bill of exchange)” in section 30(1) and (2);

(c)

by deleting the words “section 275” in section 31(1) and substituting the words “section 139”; and

(d)

by deleting the words “section 44 or 46” in the following provisions and substituting in each case the words “section 46”:

sections 48, 49, 52(a), 53(1) and (2) and 64(2).

Amendment of First Schedule

18. The First Schedule to the principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after paragraph (a) of Article 10, the following paragraph:

“(aa)

on sale of any residential property

In addition to duty under paragraph (a), where the property is disposed of in the following periods from the date of its acquisition:

Within 1 year

Exceeding 1 year but not exceeding 2 years

Exceeding 2 years but not exceeding 3 years

An amount equal to the duty paid or payable by the grantee or transferee.

An amount equal to two-thirds of the duty paid or payable by the grantee or transferee.

An amount equal to one-third of the duty paid or payable by the grantee or transferee.

”.

Amendment of Third Schedule

19. The Third Schedule to the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting Article 2 and substituting the following Article:

“

2	CONVEYANCE — Article No. 10

(a)	Article 10 (a), (b) to (g)

The grantee or transferee.

(b)	Article 10 (aa)

The grantor, transferor or lessor.

”; and

(b)

by deleting paragraph (b) of Article 4 and substituting the following paragraph:

“

(b)	Counterpart or Duplicate

The lessor unless the lessor is liable to pay stamp duty under Article 2.

”.

Savings and Transitional

20.—(1) Notwithstanding sections 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 and 17 of this Act, every instrument which was made before 29th February 1996 shall remain chargeable with duty under the principal Act as if the principal Act has not been amended.

(2) Notwithstanding sections 5 and 6 of this Act, every conveyance on sale of property and every contract or agreement for the sale of any equitable estate or interest in any property or for the sale of any estate or interest in any property, being a conveyance, contract or agreement made before 15th May 1996, shall be chargeable with duty under the principal Act as if it had not been amended by this Act.

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