Stamp Duties Act 1976

veyance of any money, goods or effects on board any vessel or aircraft;

"cheque" means a bill of exchange drawn on a bank or banker in Bermuda and payable on demand;

"conveyance on sale" includes every instrument, and every de cree or order of any court, whereby any real or personal prop erty or any estate or interest in any such property upon the sale thereof is transferred to or vested in a purchaser, or any other person on his behalf or by his direction;

"debenture" includes a debenture, debenture stock and unse cured loan stock;

"deceased person" means person dying after 31 March 1976 ;

"duly stamped" as applied to an instrument means that the in strument bears a stamp of not less than the proper amount and that such stamp has been affixed or used in accordance with the law for the time being in force in Bermuda;

"duty" means stamp duty;

"endorsement", in relation to a policy of insurance, means an in strument�

(a) made by an insurer and attached, or intended to be at tached, to the policy; and

(b) calculated to modify the effect of the policy in some way;

"equitable mortgage," means an agreement or memorandum, under hand only, relating to the deposit of any title deeds or instruments constituting or being evidence of the title to any property whatever, or creating a charge on such property;

"estate representative" means the executor, original or by repre sentation, or administrator for the time being of a deceased person;

"executed" and "execution" used with reference to instruments not under seal mean signed and signature respectively;

"exempt policy" means�

(a) a policy of insurance written in Bermuda where the risk insured against is situated outside Bermuda including�

(i) real property outside Bermuda;

(ii) personal property ordinarily situated outside Bermuda including vessels or aircraft registered in Bermuda if so situated;

(iii) the life or health of a person ordinarily resident outside Bermuda;

(b) a policy of reinsurance;

"exempt undertaking" means an exempt undertaking for the purposes of section 9 of the Miscellaneous Taxes Act 1976 [title 14 item 46];

"foreign currency security" means a security, not being a share, denominated in a currency other than Bermuda area cur rency or on which capital moneys, dividends or interest are payable in a currency other than Bermuda area currency, or as respects which the holder has an option to require pay ment of any capital moneys, dividends or interest in a cur rency other than Bermuda area currency, and includes the documents commonly known as Eurobonds and analogous securities;

"Head" means head of stamp duty specified in the Schedule;

"instrument" includes every written document;

"insurance" includes "assurance";

"insurance premium receipt" means a receipt for premiums payable under a policy of insurance and where an annuity is taxed as a policy of insurance includes a receipt for premi ums payable under an agreement for the grant of an annuity;

"lease" includes a sub-lease;

"legacy" means�

(a) every gift by will or testamentary instrument out of the estate of the testator or of property of which he had power to dispose;

(b) the residue or any share of the residue of estate under a partial or total intestacy;

"life policy" means a policy of insurance upon any life or lives or upon any event or contingency relating to or depending upon any life or lives except a policy of insurance against accident;

"marketable security" means a security of such a description as to be capable of being sold in the stock market in Bermuda and such other markets as may be recognized by the Bermuda Monetary Authority for the purposes of this defini tion by notice published in the Gazette;

"material" includes every sort of material upon which words or figures can be inscribed;

"Minister" means the Minister of Finance;

"mortgage" means a security by way of mortgage for the payment of any definite and certain sum of money advanced or lent at the time, or previously due, or forborne to be paid, being payable, or for the repayment of money to be thereafter lent, advanced or paid, or which may become due upon an ac count current, together with any sum already advanced or due, or without, as the case may be; and includes�

(a) any conveyance of any property in trust to be sold or otherwise converted into money intended only as a secu rity, and redeemable before the sale or other disposal thereof, either by express stipulation or otherwise;

(b) any instrument in writing for defeating or making re deemable, or explaining or qualifying any conveyance of property, apparently absolute, but intended only as a security;

(c) any agreement (other than an agreement chargeable with duty as an equitable mortgage), contract or bond accompanied with a deposit of title deeds or with other instruments evidencing a right to property, for making a mortgage or any other security or conveyance as afore said of any property comprised in the title deeds or other instruments or for pledging or charging the same as a security; and

(d) any deed operating as a mortgage of any stock or mar ketable security;

"mutual fund" shall have the meaning assigned to it in Part XIIA of the Companies Act 1981 [title 17 item 5];

"new share", in relation to a mutual fund, means a share whose issue causes the number of shares in issue immediately after the issue of the share to exceed the largest number of shares that had ever at any one time been in issue before the share was issued; and "new unit", in relation to a unit trust scheme, shall have a corresponding meaning:

Provided that for the purposes of this definition�

(a) the issue of a new share or new unit to a person shall be deemed to include the registration of his entitlement to the share or unit in a register of shares or unit-holders respectively; and

(b) where shares in a mutual fund or units in a unit trust scheme are subdivided or consolidated into shares or units of an amount different from that fixed by the memorandum of association of the fund or by the trust instrument respectively, the subdivision or consolidation shall be disregarded;

"partnership instrument" includes every agreement relating to the formation, continuance, reorganization or dissolution of any partnership, and every agreement relating to the alter ation of any of the terms of any partnership;

"policy of insurance" includes every instrument, except a binder or an endorsement, whereby any contract of insurance is evi denced;

"power of attorney" means any instrument, except a warrant to act as an attorney in any judicial proceedings, empowering a specified person to act in the stead of the person executing it;

"premium", in relation to an insurance premium receipt, in cludes any consideration for an annuity;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations;

"promissory note" shall have the meaning assigned to it in the Bills of Exchange Act 1934 [title 17 item 21];

"receipt" means any instrument, note, memorandum or writing whereby any money, or any bill of exchange or promissory
note for money, is acknowledged or expressed to have been received or deposited or paid, or whereby any debt or demand or any part of a debt or demand is acknowledged to have been settled, satisfied or discharged, or which signifies or im ports any such acknowledgement, and whether the same is or is not signed with the name of any person;

"regulations" means regulations under section 77;

"security" (except in sections 32 and 62 or Head 31 or otherwise where reference is intended merely to a document securing an obligation) means�

(a) any document, instrument or writing commonly known as a security;

(b) any document constituting evidence of title to or interest in the capital, assets, property, profits, earnings or roy alties of any person or company;

(d) any bond, debenture, share, stock, note, unit, unit cer tificate, participation certificate, certificate of share or interest, pre-organization certificate or subscription;

(e) any agreement providing that money received will be re paid or treated as a subscription to shares, stock, units or interest at the option of the recipient or of any person or company;

(f) any certificate of share or interest in a trust, estate or association;

(g) any profit-sharing agreement or certificate;

(h) any income or annuity contract not issued by a company whose ordinary business consists wholly or mainly of the carrying on of assurance or insurance business;

"settlement" means any non-testamentary disposition in writing whether made voluntarily or upon a good and valuable con sideration other than a bona fide pecuniary consideration whereby any definite and certain property is settled or agreed to be settled in any manner for any purpose whatsoever;

"share" means any share or debenture in the capital stock or funded debt of any corporation, company or society wherever incorporated and includes stock;

"stamp" means any adhesive or impressed stamp for the time being available for the payment of stamp duty in Bermuda;

"stamped", with reference to material and instruments, applies as well to material and instruments impressed with stamps by means of dies as to material and instruments having ad hesive stamps affixed thereto;

"stamp duty" means any duty or tax payable under this Act by affixing or impressing a stamp on the instrument liable to such duty or tax;

"testator" includes the donor of a donatio mortis causa;

"trust instrument" means, in relation to a unit trust scheme, the trust deed or other instrument (whether under seal or not) creating or recording the trusts under which persons are to participate in the scheme;

"unit" means, in relation to a unit trust scheme, a right or inter est (whether described as a unit, as a sub-unit, or otherwise) of a beneficiary under the trust instrument;

"unit trust scheme" means any arrangements made for the pur pose, or having the effect, of providing, for persons having funds available for investment, facilities for the participation by them, as beneficiaries under a trust, in profits or income arising from the acquisition, holding, management or dis posal of any property whatsoever.

PART II

LIABILITY TO STAMP DUTY

Instruments chargeable to stamp duty

2 Subject to this Act and to the exemptions contained in this Act or other statutory provision, the following instruments shall be charge able with stamp duty in the amount specified in the Schedule as the proper stamp duty therefor�

(a) every instrument specified in the Schedule as an in strument chargeable with stamp duty which, not having
been previously executed by any person, is executed in Bermuda after 31 March 1976;

(b) every bill of exchange or promissory note drawn or made out of Bermuda after 31 March 1976 and accepted or paid, presented for acceptance or payment, or endorsed, transferred or otherwise negotiated in Bermuda;

(c) every instrument (other than a bill of exchange or promissory note) specified in the Schedule as an instru ment chargeable with stamp duty which is executed out of Bermuda after 31 March 1976, and is brought into Bermuda after 31 March 1976 and which requires stamping under section 3.

Instruments executed outside Bermuda

3 (1) Where an instrument is executed outside Bermuda which would be chargeable with stamp duty under section 2(a) if it were exe cuted in Bermuda, it shall not be valid for any purpose in Bermuda, and in particular it shall not be registered in any register kept pursuant to any statutory provision in Bermuda, unless it is duly stamped under this Act (except that section 5 (1) shall not apply):

Provided that the provisions of a settlement executed outside Bermuda conferring on any person a power to appoint a trustee of the settlement and any powers supplementary thereto including the power to convey the settled property to such a trustee, shall be valid for the pur pose of appointing any such trustee and exercising such supplementary powers notwithstanding that the settlement has not been stamped in ac cordance with this subsection.

(2) For the purposes of this section a person who uses a copy of an instrument in lieu of the original of such instrument shall be deemed to use the original thereof.

Exemptions

4 No stamp duty shall be payable by the Crown or any agency thereof or chargeable in respect of�

(a) any grant or lease of land where the Crown or any agency thereof is a party;

(b) any instrument for the sale, transfer or other disposi tion, either absolutely or by way of mortgage or other wise, of any vessel (including a vessel under construc tion) or the rights of any person under an agreement for the construction of a vessel;

(c) any instrument for the sale, transfer, lease or other dis position, either absolutely or by way of mortgage or oth erwise, of land situate out of Bermuda or any share, es tate or interest in land situate out of Bermuda;

(d) any instrument (not being a policy of insurance) which relates exclusively to things to be done out of Bermuda;

(e) any instrument for the transfer on sale of any stock or marketable security issued by or on behalf of any Gov ernment or State, including the Government of Bermuda, or of any share or marketable security issued by or on behalf of any corporation, company or body of persons incorporated, formed or established out of Bermuda, except shares registered in a register kept in Bermuda in conformity with any statutory provision;

(f) conveyances or transfers on sale of any personal prop erty situated out of Bermuda by instrument in writing made between parties none of whom is domiciled, resi dent or incorporated in Bermuda or regularly engaged in any gainful occupation, trade or business in Bermuda;

(g) a bill of exchange drawn on any bank or banker outside Bermuda.

PART III

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO INSTRUMENTS GENERALLY

Time and liability to stamping

5 (1) Subject to sections 3 and 10 and Part VI the points of time before which and the periods of time within which the respective instru ments must be stamped shall be those specified in the Schedule, and where it is provided in the Schedule that an instrument is to be stamped within a certain period of time after execution, that period of time shall, unless otherwise stated in the Schedule, be reckoned as commencing on the day after the execution of the instrument in question by the person who last executes it.

(2) Where in the Schedule it is specified that an instrument is
to be stamped before execution, such instrument must be stamped be fore execution by any party thereto.

(3) If any instrument which is chargeable with stamp duty is not duly stamped, the person or persons respectively specified in the Schedule as liable for stamping shall be liable, or jointly or severally li able, as the case may be, civilly to the Crown.

(4) In addition to the person or persons liable under subsection (3) for stamping an instrument chargeable with stamp duty any person who relies on or presents for registration an instrument drawn, made or executed out of Bermuda which is chargeable with stamp duty shall be liable for stamping such instrument.

(5) Where under this Act more than one person is liable for stamping an instrument chargeable with stamp duty under section 2, the liability shall be joint and several.

Method of stamping

6 (1) Subject to this Act instruments chargeable with stamp duty shall be stamped�

(a) by means of an adhesive stamp in accordance with sec tion 7;

(b) by means of a stamp impressed by a franking machine licensed under section 8;

(c) where the instrument is stamped under subsection (2), by means of mechanically printed figures denoting the amount of stamp duty combined with a stamp im pressed upon such figures; or

(d) in such other manner as may be prescribed.

(2) The public officer authorized by the Accountant General shall, on the presentation to him at his office of any instrument for the purposes of being stamped, and subject to section 9, affix thereto a stamp denoting the amount of duty paid.

Adhesive stamps

7 (1) Stamp duty in an amount not exceeding one dollar may be paid by any adhesive stamp for the time being available for the payment of postage in Bermuda and in amounts greater than one dollar may be paid by any adhesive stamp for the time being available exclusively for payment of revenue in Bermuda or in a combination of such postage stamps (in an amount not exceeding one dollar) and such revenue stamps.

(2) An instrument is not to be deemed duly stamped with an adhesive stamp unless the person required by law to cancel the adhesive stamp cancels the same by writing on or across the stamp his name or initials, or the name or initials of his firm, together with the true date of his so writing, or otherwise effectively cancels the stamp and renders the same incapable of being used for any other instrument, or for any postal purpose, or unless it is otherwise proved that the stamp appearing on the instrument was affixed thereto at the proper time.

(3) Where two or more adhesive stamps are used to denote the stamp duty upon an instrument, each or every stamp is to be cancelled in the manner mentioned in subsection (2).

(4) Where an instrument, the stamp duty on which is to be paid by an adhesive stamp, is to be stamped within a certain period after any event, the person affixing the adhesive stamp shall cancel it forth with before he parts with the instrument.

(5) Subject to section 9 and Part VI an instrument, the stamp duty on which is denoted by an adhesive stamp, shall not be deemed to have been duly stamped unless such stamp has been cancelled as re quired by this section.

(6) Any person who being required by law to cancel an adhesive stamp neglects or refuses duly and effectually to do so in the manner prescribed by subsection (2) commits an offence.

Licensing of stamping machines

8 (1) The Accountant General may license any person to use a machine approved of by him for the purposes of impressing stamps on documents chargeable with stamp duty.

(2) Any such licence may be granted subject to such terms and conditions as the Accountant General may think fit and the Accountant General may revoke any such licence and vary any terms and conditions thereof at any time without giving any reason therefor.

(3) The Accountant General may require any person to whom he grants a licence under this section to give such security as he thinks fit for the payment to him of the stamp duty chargeable, on the instru ments stamped by any such machine, and may from time to time as he sees fit require further security to be given by that person and may, ei ther in the alternative to requiring the giving of security or in addition thereto, require such person to deposit with him from time to time such sums of money as he thinks fit to the credit of that person.

Non-admissibility of unstamped instruments

9 (1) Subject to subsection (3) and section 10 no instrument chargeable with stamp duty shall be received in evidence in any pro ceedings whatsoever, except�

(a) in criminal proceedings; and

(b) in civil proceedings on behalf of the Government to re cover stamp duty,

unless such instrument is duly stamped, whether the point of time be fore which or the period of time within which such an instrument should be stamped has or has not arrived or expired as the case may be.

(2) No instrument chargeable with stamp duty shall be acted upon, filed or registered by any public officer or by any company unless such instrument is duly stamped, whether the point of time before which or the period of time within which' such instrument should be stamped has or has not arrived or expired as the case may be.

(3) Upon the production to any court (other than a criminal court), arbitrator, referee, or public officer, of any instrument which is chargeable with stamp duty and which is not duly stamped, it shall be the duty of such court, arbitrator, referee or public officer to take notice of the omission or insufficiency of the stamp on such instrument and thereupon to take action in accordance with the following rules�

(a) if the point of time before which or the period of time within which the instrument should have been stamped has arrived or expired, as the case may be, and the in strument is one in respect of which a person is specified in the Schedule as being liable for the stamping thereof, the instrument shall be impounded and, unless the in strument has been produced to the Accountant General, shall be forwarded to the Accountant General;

(b) whether or not the instrument is so impounded, before the exclusion or rejection of the instrument the person tendering such instrument shall, if he desires, be given a reasonable opportunity to stamp the instrument and, if such instrument may not be stamped save with the spe cial permission of the Accountant General under section 10, to apply to the Accountant General for such permis sion.

(4) If a public officer is empowered or required by law to act upon, file, record or register, a duplicate or copy of any instrument, and if the original of such instrument would require to be duly stamped if acted upon, filed, recorded or registered by such public officer, he may call for the production of the original instrument or for evidence to his satisfaction that it was duly stamped, and no public officer shall act upon, file, record or register any such duplicate or copy without pro duction of the original instrument duly stamped or of evidence to his satisfaction that it was duly stamped.

(5) If any person whose office it is to enrol, register, or enter in or upon any rolls, books or records any instruments chargeable with duty enrols, registers, or enters any such instrument not being duly stamped or if such person fails to comply with subsection (3) he commits an offence.

Stamping by special permission

10 (1) Where an instrument is chargeable with stamp duty and should have been stamped before a certain event or before the expiration of a certain period but has not been so stamped, the Accountant General may give his special permission for the stamping of such instrument if he is satisfied�

(a) that the omission or neglect to stamp duty did not arise from any intention to evade payment of stamp duty or otherwise to defraud; and

(b) that either�

(i) such omission or neglect arose solely from ur gent necessity or unavoidable accident and the instrument has been brought to be stamped without delay; or

(ii) that the circumstances of the case are otherwise such as to justify special permission being given.

(2) If the Accountant General grants special permission under subsection (1) for the stamping of any instrument, such instrument may be stamped on payment of the following penalties in addition to the stamp duty�

(a) if the instrument is stamped within three months of the point of time before which, or the expiration of the period of time within which, it should have been stamped, the penalty shall be double the amount of the deficient duty or $10, whichever is the greater amount;

(b) if after three months, four times the amount of the defi cient duty or $25, whichever penalty is the greater:

Provided that�

(i) the Accountant General may remit the whole or any part of the penalty provided by this subsec tion;

(ii) the maximum penalty under this subsection shall be $500.

(3) Where an instrument has been duly stamped by special permission under this section, such instrument shall, subject to subsec tion (4), be deemed to have been duly stamped for the purposes of sec tion 9.

(4) No instrument in respect of which a penalty is payable un der this section shall be deemed to be duly stamped unless it bears an endorsement by the Accountant General indicating �

(a) that the penalty has been paid in whole or in part and the amount thereof; or

(b) that the whole of the penalty has been remitted.

Instruments by or in favour of the Crown

11 (1) Where any instrument is executed by or on behalf of the Government or by any public officer in his official capacity and for an of ficial purpose in a case where but for this section the Government or public officer would be liable to pay the stamp duty chargeable in respect of such instrument, the Government and the public officer shall be ex empt from paying such stamp duty.

(2) In a case where the Government or the public officer acting in his official capacity is the only person liable for stamp duty on the in strument, the Accountant General may, notwithstanding subsection (1), stamp such instrument with the stamp denoting that it is not chargeable with any duty.

Appropriated stamps

12 (1) A stamp which by any word or words on the face of it is ap propriated to any particular description of instrument is not to be used, or, if used, is not to be available, for an instrument of any other descrip tion.

(2) An instrument falling under the particular description to which any stamp is so appropriated as mentioned in subsection (1) is not to be deemed duly stamped, unless it is stamped with the stamp so ap propriated.

Denoting stamps

13 Where the stamp duty with which an instrument is chargeable depends in any manner upon the duty paid upon another instrument, the payment of the last-mentioned duty shall, upon application to the Accountant General and production of both the instruments, be denoted upon the first-mentioned instrument in such manner as the Accountant General thinks fit.

Duplicates and counterparts

14 The duplicate or counterpart of an instrument chargeable with stamp duty (except the counterpart of an instrument chargeable as a lease, such counterpart not being executed by or on behalf of any lessor or grantor) is not to be deemed duly stamped unless it is stamped as an original instrument, or unless it appears by some stamp impressed thereon, or by some endorsement made by the Accountant General thereon, or by some other sufficient evidence, that the full and proper duty has been paid upon the original instrument of which it is the dupli cate or counterpart.

Value of property

15 (1) Whenever any stamp duty is payable in respect of a con veyance or transfer of property, the Accountant General may ascertain the value of such property in such manner as he thinks fit.

(2) Where an instrument is chargeable with ad valorem duty in respect of�

(a) any money in any currency other than Bermuda area currency as defined for the purposes of the Exchange Control Act 1972 [title 16 item 1];

(b) any stock or marketable security,

the duty shall be calculated on the value, on the day of the date of the instrument, of the money in Bermuda area currency according to the current middle market rate of exchange, or of the stock or security ac cording to the average price thereof.

(3) Where an instrument contains a statement of the current rate of exchange, or average price, as the case may require, and is stamped in accordance with that statement, it is, so far as regards the subject matter of that statement, to be deemed to be truly stamped, un-
less or until it is shown that the statement is untrue, and that the in strument is in fact insufficiently stamped.

(4) For the purposes of this section the current middle market rate of exchange is the mid point between the buying and selling rates of Bermuda banks for foreign currencies rounded to three decimal places where there are such rates.

How instruments are to be written and stamped

16 (1) Every instrument written upon stamped material is to be written in such manner, and every instrument partly or wholly written before being stamped is to be so stamped, that the stamp may appear on the face of the instrument, and cannot be used for or applied to any other instrument written upon the same piece of material.

(2) If more than one instrument has been written upon the same piece of material, every one of the instruments is to be separately and distinctly stamped with the duty with which it is chargeable.

Instruments to be separately charged with duty in certain cases

17 Except where express provision to the contrary is made by this Act�

(a) an instrument containing or relating to several distinct matters is to be separately and distinctly charged, as if it were a separate instrument, with duty in respect of each of the matters;

(b) an instrument made for any consideration in respect whereof it is chargeable with ad valorem duty, and also for any further or other valuable consideration is to be separately and distinctly charged, as if it were a separate instrument, with duty in respect of each of the consider ations.

Instruments chargeable under more than one Head

18 An instrument which is chargeable under more than one Head shall be charged under the Head which imposes the highest duty.

Facts and circumstances affecting duty to be set forth

19 (1) All facts and circumstances affecting the liability of any in strument to duty, or the amount of the duty with which an instrument is chargeable, are to be fully and truly set forth in the instrument.

(2) Any person who with intent to evade the payment of duty�

(a) executes any instrument in which all the facts and cir cumstances are not truly and fully set forth as required by subsection (1); or

(b) being employed or concerned in or about the preparation of any instrument neglects or omits fully and truly to set forth therein all the said facts and circumstances,

commits an offence.

Splitting

20 (1) Where any minimum amount is prescribed below which stamp duty shall not be payable, no person shall execute more instru ments than would ordinarily be necessary for the transaction in ques tion, in order to evade stamp duty by such splitting.

(2) Where a scale is prescribed under which the rate of stamp duty is increased after passing certain limits, no person shall execute more instruments than would ordinarily be necessary for the transaction in question, in order to evade stamp duty by such splitting.

(3) In any question whatsoever arising under this section the onus of proof shall lie upon the person who asserts that there has been no splitting in order to evade stamp duty.

(4) Any person who contravenes this section commits an of fence.

Periodic stamping of instruments

21 (1) Where it appears to the Accountant General that an in strument specified in the Schedule will become chargeable to further stamp duty from time to time after its execution, he may authorize the person liable to pay such further duty to pay it at such periodical inter vals as he considers appropriate and not immediately upon the occur rence of the event by reason of which it becomes payable.

(2) The Accountant General in granting such authorization as specified in subsection (1) may impose any conditions or restrictions in relation thereto (including the provision of security by the person so au thorized) as he considers appropriate for the securing of the payment of any such stamp duty, and the Accountant General may revoke any such authorization at any time and upon the revocation of any such autho rization all stamp duties which but for such authorization would other wise have been payable shall thereupon become immediately payable.

PART IV

ADJUDICATION WITH RESPECT TO LIABILITY TO STAMP DUTY

Adjudication by Accountant General with respect to liability of in strument to stamp duty

22 (1) The Accountant General may be required by any person, upon payment of such fee therefor as may be prescribed under the Gov ernment Fees Act 1965 [title 15 item 18], to express his opinion upon any of the following questions with reference to any executed instrument or any instrument intended to be executed�

(a) whether the instrument is chargeable with any stamp duty;

(b) with what amount of stamp duty the instrument is chargeable.

(2) The Accountant General may require the production of the instrument, and also to be furnished with such evidence as he may deem necessary in order to satisfy himself of all the facts and circumstances affecting the liability of the instrument to stamp duty, or the amount of the stamp duty chargeable thereon.

(3) If the Accountant General is satisfied that the instrument is not chargeable with any stamp duty he shall inscribe on the instrument a written note to that effect and shall sign the note accordingly.

(4) If the Accountant General is satisfied that the instrument is chargeable with stamp duty he shall inscribe on the instrument a written note of the amount of duty which in his opinion is chargeable thereon and shall sign the note accordingly.

(5) Every instrument inscribed in the manner prescribed by subsection (3), or on which the amount of duty inscribed in the manner prescribed by subsection (4) has been paid, shall be admissible in evi dence and shall be available for all purposes notwithstanding any objec tions relating to the duty payable thereon.

(6) This subsection shall have effect with respect to subsections (1) to (5) �

(a) an instrument upon which the stamp duty has been as sessed by the Accountant General shall not, if it is un stamped or insufficiently stamped, be stamped otherwise than in accordance with the assessment;

(b) nothing in this section shall authorize the late stamping of any instrument.

Appeal to Supreme Court against assessment of Accountant General

23 (1) Any person who is dissatisfied with any assessment made by the Accountant General in pursuance of section 22 with respect to the amount of stamp duty chargeable upon an instrument may, within fourteen days after receiving from the Accountant General the instru ment duly inscribed in accordance with section 22(4) and on payment of the stamp duty in conformity therewith, appeal to the Supreme Court against the assessment; and for that purpose may by notice served upon the Accountant General require the Accountant General to state and sign a case, setting forth the question upon which his opinion was required, and the assessment made by him.

(2) The Accountant General shall, within fourteen days of the service of such notice upon him, state and sign a case and shall deliver a copy of the case to the person by whom the case is required and a fur ther copy of the case to the Registrar; and the case may within seven days thereafter be set down by such person for hearing by the Supreme Court.

(3) Upon the hearing of the case the Supreme Court shall de termine the question submitted, and, if the instrument in question is, in the opinion of the Supreme Court, chargeable with any stamp duty, then the Supreme Court shall assess the amount of the stamp duty with which it is chargeable.

(4) If the Supreme Court determines that the assessment made by the Accountant General was erroneous, then any excess of stamp duty which may have been paid in conformity with the erroneous as sessment, together with any fine or penalty which may have been paid in consequence thereof, shall be ordered by the Supreme Court to be repaid to the appellant.

(5) The provisions of the Crown Causes Act 1951 [title 8 item 101] which relate to costs in Crown actions shall have effect in relation to an appeal under this section as though such appeal were a Crown action within the meaning of that Act.

PART V

ALLOWANCES

Procedure for obtaining allowance for spoiled stamps

24 Subject to the regulations and to the production of such evi-

dence by affidavit or otherwise as the Accountant General may require, allowance shall be made by the Accountant General for stamps spoiled in the following cases �

(a) the stamp on any material inadvertently and unde signedly spoiled, obliterated or by any means rendered unfit for the purpose intended, before the material bears the signature of any person or any instrument written thereon is executed by any party;

(b) any adhesive stamp which has been inadvertently and undesignedly spoiled or rendered unfit for use and has not in the opinion of the Accountant General been af fixed to any material;

(c) any adhesive stamp representing a fee capable of being collected by means of such stamp which has been af fixed to material;

(d) [deleted by 1992:4 effective 19 February 1992]

(e) the stamp on any promissory note signed by or on behalf of the maker which has not been made use of in any manner whatever or delivered out of his hands;

(f) the stamp on any promissory note which from any omission or error has been spoiled or rendered useless, although the promissory note may have been delivered to the payee, provided that another completed and duly stamped promissory note is produced identical in every particular, except in the correction of the error or omission, with the spoiled note;

[subparagraph (f) deleted and replaced by 1992:4 effective 19 February 1992]

(g) the stamp used for any instrument executed by any party thereto�

(i) but afterwards found to be absolutely void from the beginning; or

(ii) but afterwards found unfit, by reason of any er ror or mistake therein, for the purpose originally intended;

(iii) which has not been made use of for any purpose whatever and which, by reason of the inability or refusal of some necessary party to sign the same or to complete the transaction according to the instrument, is incomplete and insufficient for the purpose for which it was intended;

(iv) which by reason of the refusal of any person to act under the same, or for want of enrolment or registration within the time required by law, fails of its intended purpose or becomes void;

(v) which is inadvertently and undesignedly spoiled, and in lieu whereof another instrument made between the same parties and for the same pur pose is executed and duly stamped, or which becomes useless in consequence of the transac tion intended to be thereby effected being ef fected by some other instrument duly stamped:

Provided that�

(a) the application for relief is made within six months after the stamp has been spoiled or become useless or, in the case of an executed instrument after the date of the in strument or, if it is not dated, within six months after the execution thereof by the person by whom it was first or alone executed, or within such further time as the regulations may prescribe in the case of any instrument sent abroad for execution, or when from unavoidable circumstances any instrument for which another has been substituted cannot be produced within the said pe riod;

(b) in the case of an executed instrument, no legal pro ceeding 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.

Allowance for misused stamps

25 When any person has inadvertently used for an instrument liable to duty a stamp of greater value than was necessary, or has inadver tently used a stamp for an instrument not liable to any duty, the Ac countant General may, on application made within two years after the date of the instrument or, if it is not dated, within six months after the execution thereof by the person by whom it was first or alone executed, and upon the instrument, if liable to duty, being stamped with the proper duty, cancel and allow as spoiled the stamp so misused.

Allowance, how to be made

26 In any case in which allowance is made for spoiled or misused stamps the Accountant General may give in lieu thereof money to the value of the spoiled or misused stamps or other stamps of the same de nomination and value or, if required and he thinks proper, stamps of any other denomination to the same amount in value.

Stamps not wanted may be repurchased

27 When any person is possessed of a stamp which has not been spoiled or rendered unfit or useless for the purpose intended, but for, which he has not immediate use, the Accountant General shall repay to him the value of the stamp in money, upon his delivering up the stamp to be cancelled and proving to the satisfaction of the Accountant General that it was lawfully purchased by him from the Government within the period of two years next preceding the application and with a bona fide intention to use it.

PART VI

PROMISSORY NOTES

28 [section 28 repealed by 1991:8 effective 1 April 1991]

29 [section 29 repealed by 1992:4 effective 19 February 1992]]

Foreign notes

30 (1) Where a promissory note drawn or made outside Bermuda comes into the hands of a person in Bermuda before it is stamped he shall, before he presents for payment, or endorses, trans fers or in any manner negotiates or pays the note, affix thereto a proper adhesive stamp or proper adhesive stamps of sufficient amount, and cancel every stamp so affixed thereto:

Provided as follows�

(a) if at the time when any such note comes into the hands of any bona fide holder there is affixed thereto an adhesive stamp effectually cancelled, the stamp shall, so far as relates to the holder, be deemed to be duly can celled, although it may not appear to have been affixed or cancelled by the proper person; and

(b) if at the time when any such note comes into the hands of any bona fide holder there is affixed thereto an adhesive stamp not duly cancelled, it shall be competent for the holder to cancel the stamp as if he were the per son by whom it was affixed, and upon his so doing the note shall be deemed duly stamped and as valid and available as if the stamp had been cancelled by the person by whom it was affixed.

(2) Neither of the provisos to subsection (1) is to relieve any person from any fine or penalty incurred by him for not cancelling an adhesive stamp.

[section 30 amended by 1992:4 effective 19 February 1992]

31 [repealed by 1992:4 effective 19 February 1992]

Unstamped note

32 (1) The person who takes or receives from any other person any promissory note chargeable with duty and not being duly stamped either in payment or as a security, or by purchase or oth erwise, shall not be entitled to recover thereon or to rely upon the same for any purpose.

[subsections (2) and (3) deleted by 1992:4 effective 19 February 1992]

Offence: unstamped note

33 Any person who draws, makes, issues, endorses or transfers or signs otherwise than as a witness, or presents for acceptance or payment or accepts, pays or receives payment of or in any manner negotiates any promissory note without the same being duly stamped commits an offence.

[section 33 amended by 1992:4 effective 19 February 1992]

PART VII

CONVEYANCES

Calculation of stamp duty chargeable on conveyance on sale

34 (1) Where the consideration for a conveyance on sale consists, wholly or in part, of any shares or marketable security, ad valorem duty upon such conveyance shall, in respect of such shares or security, be charged upon the current value thereof.

(2) Where the consideration consists, wholly or in part, of any security not being a marketable security, ad valorem duty upon such conveyance shall, in respect of such security, be charged upon the amount due at the date of the conveyance for principal and interest upon the security.

How consideration on periodical payments to be charged

35 (1) Where the consideration, or any part of the consideration, for a conveyance on sale consists of money payable periodically for a definite period not exceeding twenty years, so that the total amount to be paid can be previously ascertained, the conveyance is to be charged in respect of that consideration with ad valorem duty on such total amount.

(2) Where the consideration, or any part of the consideration, for a conveyance on sale consists of money payable periodically for a definite period exceeding twenty years or in perpetuity, or for any indefi nite period not terminable with life, the conveyance is to be charged in respect of that consideration with ad valorem duty on the total amount which will or may, according to the terms of sale, be payable during the period of twenty years next after the day of the date of the instrument.

(3) Where the consideration, or any part of the consideration, for a conveyance on sale consists of money payable periodically during any life or lives, the conveyance is to be charged in respect of that con sideration with ad valorem duty on the amount which will or may, ac cording to the terms of sale, be payable during the period of twelve years next after the day of the date of the instrument.

(4) No conveyance on sale chargeable with ad valorem duty in respect of any periodical payments, and containing also provision for se curing the payments, is to be charged with any duty in respect of such provision, and no separate instrument made in that case for securing the payments is to be charged with any higher duty than $5.00.

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Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

Stamp Duties Act 1976