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Bahamas Numbered Acts |
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No. 11 of 2005 |
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AN ACT TO AMEND THE STAMP ACT TO |
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FACILITATE A MORE EFFICIENT |
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COLLECTION OF STAMP DUTY |
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[Date of Assent : - 30th June, 2005] |
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Enacted by the Parliament of The Bahamas. |
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1.
This Act which amends the
Stamp Act may be cited as the Stamp (Amendment) Act, 2005.
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Short title. Ch. 370. |
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2.
Section 2 of the principal Act
is amended as follows -
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Amendment of section 2 of the principal Act. |
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(a)
in the definition of the
expression "Bahamian", by the deletion of the words "registered
under the Companies Act";
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(b)
by the deletion of the expression
"beneficially owned";
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(c)
by the deletion of the expression
"executed" and the substitution of the following -
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"executed" and "execution" or executing" with reference to an instrument under seal means "signed" and "signature"; or "signing"; |
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(d)
by the deletion of the expression
"instrument" and the substitution of the following -
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"instrument" means every written or printed or partly written and partly written and partly printed document including the memorandum mentioned in section 21 whether under seal or not; |
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(e)
in the definition of the
expression "marketable security" by the deletion of the words "in
the United Kingdom or any other stock market";
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(f)
by the insertion of the following
definitions in the appropriate alphabetical positions -
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"beneficial owner" means any person who is beneficially interested in any property including a beneficiary under a trust irrespective of whether his interest is vested or not and "beneficially owned" shall be construed accordingly; |
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"business" includes any part of a business but does not include - |
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(a)
any business designated or
deemed to be non-resident under the Exchange Control Regulations
Act;
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Ch. 360. |
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(b)
any business whose annual
turnover as defined by the Business Licence Act is less than Five
hundred thousand dollars;
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Ch. 329. |
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(c)
any business falling within a
category of business declared by order of the Minister published in
the Gazette to be exempt from the
payment of stamp duty on the sale
of that business;
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"change in beneficial ownership" in relation to a transfer of property means the substitution or addition of any one or more persons as the beneficial owner or owners of that property; |
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"company" means: |
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(a)
a company incorporated under
the Companies Act other than a public company as therein defined or
any company not for profit within
the meaning of section 160 of the
said Act;
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Ch. 308. |
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(b)
a company incorporated under
The International Business Companies Act;
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Ch. 309. |
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(c)
a company incorporated under
the laws of another jurisdiction; or
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(d)
any other legal entity having
the capacity to acquire and dispose of property save for a body
corporate established by an Act of Parliament;
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"consideration" means the full price that is payable or the value that is given for the sale of property or in respect of any other transaction; |
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"declaration of trust" includes any instrument by which a trust is created; |
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"land" means any realty or interest in realty situated in The Bahamas; or any share in a landowning company, except for a time share interest or a leasehold interest for a term of less than seven years; |
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"landholding company" means any company that owns land directly; or is the parent of any subsidiary company that owns land; |
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"value" means the sum that would be expected to be realized on the sale of any property at the time of the sale in the open market by a willing seller to a willing buyer at market value; |
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"merger" means any merger, consolidation or amalgamation of two or more companies under the Companies Act or under the International Business Companies Act; |
Ch. 308. Ch. 309. |
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"mortgage" includes any mortgage, whether legal or equitable; a debenture creating a charge, whether fixed or floating; and any other charge or incumbrance otherwise than a charge created by statute or arising from any order or a court; |
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"nominee" includes a trustee, agent or other fiduciary; |
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"parent" means any company that owns the majority of the issued shares of any class of shares in another company; or any company that ultimately controls another company either directly or through its control of an intervening subsidiary or subsidiaries however many in number; |
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"party to an instrument" includes any person in whose favour an instrument is executed notwithstanding that that person has not himself executed the instrument: and "parties" shall be construed accordingly; |
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"property" includes land and personalty of every description and property that is partly in the nature of realty and partly in the nature of personalty; |
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"sale" includes any disposition (including exchange) of any property by whatever means for valuable consideration; |
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"sale of a business" includes the sale, in whole or in part of the goodwill and other property comprised in any business either directly or by a transfer of shares in a company that owns the goodwill or other property comprised in that business; |
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"sham" means an instrument created for the purposes of evading or otherwise defrauding the Government of any duty payable under this Act; |
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"share" in a company includes - |
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(a)
any interest in any share in
any company;
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(b)
any unitized equity in any
company';
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(c)
any security that is
convertible into shares in any company; and
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(d)
any entitlement to participate
in the division of profits in the event of the winding-up of any
company;
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"subsidiary" means any company the majority of whose issued shares of any class are owned or controlled by another company; |
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"transaction" includes one or more elements or stages of a transaction or a series of transactions irrespective of whether the parties are uniformly the same in each instance and any reference to the stamping of a transaction means the stamping of the documents effecting or evidencing that transaction or the memorandum of transaction mentioned in section 14(3); |
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"transfer of land" includes - |
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(a)
any conveyance, assignment or
other disposition of any land, whether effected or evidenced by
deed or not and whether for valuable
consideration or by way of
gift;
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(b)
the sale assignment or delivery
of any chattels or other personalty to the purchaser of any land or
his nominee as a part of or incidental
to any transaction relating
to the transfer of any land;
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(c)
any exchange of land for other
land;
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(d)
the issuance or transfer to any
person or his nominee of any shares in any landowning
company;
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(e)
any other transaction whether
by way of merger or otherwise, that has the effect of vesting the
beneficial interest in any land or
any shares in a landowning
company in any person alone or with any other person;
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"value of equity of redemption" means the market value of property subject to a mortgage or other incumbrance (excepting Real Property Tax) less the amount owing on that mortgage or other incumbrance at the time of sale. any reference herein to the vendor or purchaser of any property or any part to any transaction shall include the respective nominees of such persons. |
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3.
Section 14 of the principal
Act is repealed and replaced by the following -
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Amendment of section 14 of the principal Act. |
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"Duties of person executing to stamp
instrument and cancel stamps.
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14.(1) Except as in this Act otherwise provided, it shall be the joint and several obligation of every party to any instrument or transaction required by this Act or any other Act to be stamped, to cause the same to be duly stamped and the stamps thereon cancelled as required by this Act. |
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(2)Where more than one person executes such instrument or
takes part in such transaction the cancellation of the stamps
thereon may be
made by only one of such persons.
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(3)Where any transaction chargeable for stamp duty under this
Act is not contained in or evidenced by any instrument or where the
parties
to the transaction have determined in good faith that the
instrument evidencing the transaction is not in a form suitable for
the
impressing of a stamp thereon it shall be the joint and several
obligation of the parties to the transaction to execute a
memorandum
of transaction setting out the consideration and all
other facts and circumstances affecting the stamp duty chargeable
in respect
of the transaction and the Treasurer shall upon receipt
of the duty payable on the transaction, impress the said memorandum
with
a stamp denoting such receipt and thereupon the said
transaction shall be deemed duly stamped subject to the provisions
of this Act
relating to surcharges and additional duty should the
same be applicable.
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4.
Section 15 of the principal
Act is amended by the deletion of subsection (4).
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Amendment of section 15 of the principal Act. |
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5.
Section 17 of the principal
Act is repealed and replaced by the following -
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Amendment of section 17 of the principal Act. |
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"Stamping after execution.
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17.(1) Except where express provision to the contrary is made by this or any other Act any unstamped or insufficiently stamped instrument or transaction may be duly stamped by the Treasurer after its execution on payment to the Treasurer of the unpaid duty and a surcharge, of ten percent of the unpaid duty is payable where the time elapsing from the date of execution to the date of payment exceeds six months but does not exceed one year and a surcharge of fifteen percent of the unpaid duty is payable where the time elapsing from the date of execution to the date of payment is one year or more.". |
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(2)Whenever it is made to appear to the satisfaction of the
Treasurer by declaration or otherwise, that the omission duly to
stamp any
instrument or transaction has not been willful or with an
intent to defraud, the Treasurer may remit the whole or any part of
the
surcharge payable on stamping the instrument or
transaction.
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(3)Where an instrument or transaction has been duly stamped
but additional stamp duty becomes payable thereon by virtue of any
event
or circumstance occurring subsequent to the original stamping
the instrument or transaction shall not be deemed duly stamped
until
such additional stamp duty has been paid together with a
surcharge mentioned in this subsection to the extent that the same
may be
applicable of ten percent of the unpaid duty where the time
elapsing from the occurrence of the said event or circumstance to
the
date of payment exceeds six months but does not exceed one year
or a surcharge of fifteen percent where the time elapsing from the
date of the said event or circumstance to the date of payment is
one year or more.
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(4)Any unstamped instrument or transaction executed prior to
the commencement of this Act shall be subject to the surcharges
mentioned
in this section save that the time periods mentioned
therein shall run from the commencement of this Act rather than the
date of
execution of the unstamped instrument or
transaction.
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(5)Whenever it is made to appear to the satisfaction of the
Treasurer by declaration or otherwise that the omission to cancel
the stamps
on any instrument has not been willful and that the
stamps appearing on such instrument were affixed thereto at the
proper time he
may cancel such stamps in accordance with this Act
or in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules.".
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6.
Section 19 of the principal
Act is amended in the following respects -
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Amendment of section 19 of the principal Act. |
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(a)
in subsection (1) by the deletion
of the words "twenty dollars" and the substitution of the words
"five hundred dollars".
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(b)
in subsection (2) by the deletion
of the words "Out Island" and the substitution of the words "Family
Island".
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7.
Section 20 the principal Act
is amended as follows -
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Amendment of section 20 of the principal Act. |
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(a)
in subsection (1) by the deletion
of the words "Subject to the approval of the Minister to be
notified in the Gazette";
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(b)
by the deletion of subsection
(2).
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8.
Section 21 of the principal
Act is repealed and replaced by the following -
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Amendment of section 21 of the principal Act. |
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"Facts affecting duty tobe set forth in instrument.
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21.(1) The consideration and all other facts and circumstances affecting the stamp duty chargeable in respect of any instrument or transaction shall be fully and truly set forth in such instrument or , where the circumstances referred to in section 20 (2) apply, in a memorandum of the transaction. |
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(2)The Registrar General shall not receive for record nor
enter in any of the books of record in his office, any instrument
which he
is required by any Act to enter or record, and which is
required to be stamped by any Act, unless he is satisfied that,
notwithstanding
the consideration mentioned in such instrument, the
same has been duly stamped and the stamps thereon cancelled as
required by this
Act.
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(3)Where any permission or approval is granted or issued
under the Exchange Control Regulations Act or the International
Persons Landholding
Act in respect of the acquisition of any land
or the sale of any business it shall be a condition of such
permission, permit or approval,
whether expressed therein or not,
that in the event that the applicable stamp duty on the instrument
or transaction to which such
permission, permit or approval relates
remains unpaid for a period of eighteen months from the time when
such stamp duty became due,
such permission, permit or approval
shall be conclusively deemed to be rescinded as from the expiration
of the said period.
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Ch. 360. Ch. 140. |
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(4)Subsection (3) shall not operate so as to prejudice any
bona fide purchaser for value who may have acquired the land or a
business
without actual or constructive notice that any relevant
permission, permit or approval has been rescinded by reason of the
non-payment
of any applicable stamp duty.
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(5)Any permission, permit or approval rescinded under this
section shall automatically be re-instated with effect from the
date of recission
upon payment of the unpaid stamp duty and any
applicable surcharge.
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(6)A person on whose behalf an instrument is presented for
stamping shall when requested by the Treasurer produce a sworn
declaration
setting out the consideration and all facts and
circumstances relevant to the charging of stamp duty on the
instrument or the transaction
to which it relates.".
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9.
Section 22 of the principal
Act is repealed and replaced by the following -
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Amendment of section 22 of the principal Act. |
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"Offences relating to
instruments.
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22. Any person who, with intent to defraud the Government of any duty - |
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(a)
executes any instrument in which
all the facts and circumstances required by this Act to be set
forth in such instrument are not fully
and truly set forth;
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(b)
being employed or concerned in
or about the preparation of any instrument, neglects or omits,
fully and truly to set forth therein
all such facts and
circumstances;
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(c)
being employed or concerned in
or about the preparation of any instrument, back-dates the same
such that it purports to be executed
prior to the commencement of
this Act when in fact it was executed after the commencement of
this Act;
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(d)
executes a back-dated instrument
knowing the same to be back-dated;
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(e)
executes any instrument
purporting to create a mortgage over any property in connection
with the sale of any business or property
knowing the same to be a
sham
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shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and be liable to a penalty of five thousand dollars. |
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10.
Section 23 of the principal
Act is amended by the deletion of the words "fifty dollars" and the
substitution of the words "five thousand
dollars".
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Amendment of section 23 of the principal Act. |
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11.
Section 25 of the principal
Act is amended by the deletion of the words "one hundred dollars"
and the substitution therefor of the
words "five thousand
dollars".
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Amendment of section 25 of the principal Act. |
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12.
Section 26 of the principal
Act is amended by the deletion of the words "one hundred dollars"
and the substitution therefor of the
words" "one thousand
dollars".
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Amendment of section 26 of the principal Act. |
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13.
The principal Act is amended
by the insertion immediately after section 26 of the following new
section -
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Insertion of section 26 A in the principal Act. |
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"Misappropriation of stamp
duty.
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26 (A) Any person being counsel and attorney or real estate salesman or broker for any party to an instrument or transaction who without the knowledge of that party, appropriates to his own use and benefit any monies deposited with or entrusted to him or otherwise placed under his control for the payment of stamp duty chargeable on the instrument or transaction shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be liable upon conviction to a penalty of five thousand dollars or a term of imprisonment for one year and it shall be no defence to a charge brought against any such counsel, attorney or real estate salesman or broker under this section that the monies were applied in or towards settlement of his professional fees or commission instead of the payment of the applicable stamp duties.". |
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14.
Section 27 of the principal
Act is amended as follows -
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Amendment of section 27 of the principal Act. |
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(a)
in subsection (1) by the
insertion immediately after the words "instrument" wherever it
appears, of the words "or transaction"; and
by the insertion of the
words "or entered into" after the word "executed";
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(b)
by the deletion of subsections
(2), (3) and (4) and the substitution of the following -
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(2)The Treasurer may require the production of instrument or
intended instrument to which the questions refer to in subsection
(1) relate
or a memorandum or intended memorandum of transaction as
described in section 14 (2) and also to be furnished with such
other documents
as he may deem necessary, in order to satisfy
himself whether all the facts and circumstances affecting the
liability of the instrument
or transaction to stamp duty, or the
amount of the stamp duty chargeable thereon, are fully and truly
disclosed.
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(3)If the Treasurer is satisfied that the instrument or
transaction is not chargeable with any stamp duty he shall inscribe
on the instrument
a written note to that affect and shall sign the
note accordingly.
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(4)If the Treasurer is satisfied that the instrument or
transaction is chargeable with stamp duty he shall inscribe on the
instrument
or memorandum of transaction a written note of the
amount of duty which in his opinion is chargeable thereon and shall
sign the note
accordingly.";
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(c)
in subsection (5) by the
insertion immediately after the word "instrument:" of the words "or
memorandum of transaction".
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15.
The principal Act is amended
by the insertion immediately after section 27 of the following new
section -
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Insertion of new section 27A in the principal Act. |
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"Refund of stamp duty paid in
error.
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27.A The Treasurer, at the request of the Minister may out of the Consolidated Fund refund to a person any stamp duty paid on any instrument through mistake or inadvertence.". |
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16.
Section 28 of the principal
Act is amended as follows -
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Amendment of section 28 of the principal Act. |
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(a)
in subsection (1) by the
insertion immediately after the word "instrument" where that word
first appears of the word "or transaction";
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(b)
in subsection (4) by the deletion
of the words "any fine or penalty" and the substitution therefor of
the words "any surcharge".
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17.
The principal Act is amended
by the insertion of a new section 28.A, 28.B, 28.0 and 28.D as
follows -
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Insertion of new sections 28.A, 28.B, 28.C and 28.D in the principal Act. |
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"Sale of business.
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28.A(1) Every transaction comprising the sale of any business, insofar as such sale may involve the transfer of any land or any share in a landowning company, shall be chargeable for stamp duty in like manner as a direct transfer of that land or a direct transfer of the shares in the landowning company at the rate specified in that behalf in the Second Schedule. |
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(2)Every transaction comprising the sale of business, insofar
as such as all such sale may involve the transfer of any property
other
than land (save for cash or monies on deposit in any bank)
shall be chargeable for stamp duty at the rate specified in that
behalf
in the Second Schedule.
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Mergers.
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28B.(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Companies Act or the International Business Companies Act, a merger of two or more companies shall in respect of any land or business that automatically vests in any surviving company in the merger, be chargeable for stamp duty in the same amount that would have been payable if that land or business had been transferred directly to the surviving company by one or more of the other companies in the merger. |
Ch. 308. Ch. 309. |
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(2)No Articles of Merger relating to a merger that is
chargeable for stamp duty under subsection (2) shall be accepted
for record by
the Registrar of Companies unless the Articles of
Merger are duly stamped in accordance with this Act.
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(3)The provisions of this Act relating to the imposition of
stamp duties on mergers shall not apply to any merger that formally
commenced
prior to the commencement of this Act.
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(4)The provisions of this Act relating to the imposition of
stamp duties on mergers shall not apply to any company exempted
from the
payment of stamp duty under the International Business
Companies Act.
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Ch. 309. |
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Sale of land and connected construction
contracts.
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28C.(1) In respect of every transaction in which a transfer of land is connected to the construction thereon by the vendor of that land or his affiliate of a dwelling house or other building, whether commercial or residential (including any unit in any condominium or proposed condominium) for the benefit of the purchaser of that land, the transfer and the construction contract shall together constitute a single transaction for the purposes of this Act and shall be chargeable for stamp duty based on the consideration for the transfer of the land and the consideration payable for the construction of the said dwelling house or other structure, at the rate applicable to a transfer of realty as set forth in the Second Schedule. |
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(2)For the purposes of subsection (1), a transfer of land
shall be conclusively deemed to be connected to the construction of
a dwelling
house or other structure thereon if any instrument
relating to the transfer of the land includes an agreement for such
construction
or any instrument relating to the sale of land is
preceded by or, made contemporaneously with, or followed within 12
months by a
contract, written or oral or partly written and partly
oral, for such construction.
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(3)Where a construction contract under this section is
entered into subsequent to the stamping of any conveyance for the
transfer of
the land, it shall be the joint and several obligation
of the parties to the construction contract to pay the stamp duty
payable
in respect of the consideration for the construction within
sixty days from the creation of the construction
contract.
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(4)For the purposes of this section a person shall be deemed
to be an affiliate of the vendor if (being a corporate body) it is
a parent,
subsidiary, other corporate affiliate or director of the
vendor or (being an individual) is a director, member, manager or
employee
of the vendor or, in either case, is in contractual
relations with the vendor for the construction mentioned in
subclause (2).
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(5)This section shall not apply to any transaction in which
the combined consideration mentioned in subclause (1) is less than
two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars.
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(6)This section shall not apply to any construction contract
executed prior to the commencement of this Act or any construction
contract
expressly contemplated by any agreement relating to the
sale of land executed prior to the commencement of this
Act.
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Corporate and trust
transactions.
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28D. The following transactions shall be chargeable for stamp duty in like manner as a direct transfer or sale of land or a business if entered into for the purpose of effecting a direct or indirect change in the beneficial ownership of any land or business - |
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(a)
the allotment or issuance to any
person or his nominee of any shares of any class in any company
such that the person to whom such
shares are issued or his nominee
thereby becomes entitled to voting rights, dividends, or the
surplus assets of the company in place
of any person who previously
enjoyed those rights;
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(b)
the variation of the rights of
shareholders of a company such that the person in whose favour such
rights are varied becomes entitled
to dividends or the surplus
assets of the company in substitution for or to the exclusion of
the other shareholders;
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(c)
the admission to membership of
any person in a company limited by guarantee whether having a share
capital or not such that he becomes
entitled to dividends or the
surplus assets of the company in substitution for or to the
exclusion of the other members;
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(d)
any declaration of trust under
which the present owner of land or a business declares himself a
trustee of that land for another person;
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(e)
any other transaction under or
in relation to any trust or company resulting in any person
indirectly acquiring or succeeding to the
beneficial ownership of
any land or business or any part thereof unless such transactions
is exempted from stamp duty under any other
provision of this
Act;
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(f)
the addition of any person to
the beneficial class of a trust and the contemporaneous or
subsequent removal or exclusion of the other
beneficiaries of the
trust such that the only person who remains beneficially interested
under the trust is the person so added.".
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18.
Section 29 of the principal
Act is repealed and replaced by the following -
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Amendment of section 29 of the principal Act. |
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"Deeds of gift and other voluntary transfer
of property.
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29.(1) Every deed of gift or other voluntary transfer of property inter vivos shall be subject to stamp duty based on the value of the property in accordance with the Second Schedule save that in the case of property other than land the stamp duty shall not exceed forty five dollars. |
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(2)No such deed of gift or other voluntary shall be deemed to
be duly tamped unless the Treasurer has expressed his opinion as to
the
stamp duty chargeable thereon.
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(3)Subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply to a conveyance or
transfer made for nominal consideration for the purpose of securing
the
repayment of an advance or loan; or under which no beneficial
interest passes in the property conveyed or transferred; or made to
a beneficiary by a trustee or other person in a fiduciary under any
trust, whether expressed or implied, subject as provided herein;
or
a disentailing assurance not limiting any new estate other than an
estate in fee simple in the person disentailing the property;
and
this
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19.
The Second Schedule to the
principal Act is amended as follows -
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Amendment of Second Schedule of the principal Act. |
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(a)
by the insertion immediately
before the words "Every transaction embodied in" of the following
new item -
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(b)
by the deletion of the words
"Every transaction embodied in or carried out by an instrument not
within the last mentioned item and
which transaction" and the
substitution of the words "Every transaction or instrument within
the last mentioned item which by virtue
of the provisions of this
Act is treated as if it were a transfer";
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20.
The Third Schedule of the
principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following -
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Amendment of Third Schedule of the principal Act. |
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"Instruments relating to a transfer operating as a voluntary disposition of property to a body of persons incorporated by a special Act, if that body is by its Act precluded from dividing any profit among its members and the property conveyed is to be held for the public benefit. |
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Instruments relating to a transfer of property between two more companies that are constituent members of the same group of companies and under the ultimate ownership of the same person if no part of the consideration for such transfer is payable to any person that is not a constituent member of the same group of companies; the ultimate ownership aforesaid remains unchanged; and no person (other than the transferee and a pre-existing member of the same group of companies) acquires any interest in the property. |
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Instruments relating to a transfer of property that does not result in a change of beneficial ownership. |
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Instruments relating to the vesting of property in any beneficiary under a trust subject as herein before provided. |
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Instruments relating to the transmission of property upon the death or bankruptcy of the owner of such property to his personal representatives or trustee-in-bankruptcy, as the case may be. |
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Instruments relating to the vesting of property in any person by or in obedience to an order of any court of competent jurisdiction. |
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Instruments relating to the vesting of any property in any person by virtue of any statutory or common law entitlement save for a merger. |
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Instruments relating to the acquisition by a company of its own shares pursuant to section 44 of the Companies Act or section 32 of the International Business Companies Act provided that such shares are either cancelled or retained as treasury shares. |
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Deeds of gift of land from one exclusively charitable, religious or non profit institution or body to another such institution or body. |
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Instruments relating to any property transfer made pursuant to an adjustment order under the Matrimonial Causes Act (Ch 125).". |
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URL: http://www.commonlii.org/bs/legis/num_act/sa2005165