Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 175:

In page 82, after line 40, to insert the following: “(5) The Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 is amended in Part 6 by constituting sections 68 to 78 as Chapter 1 of that Part and inserting the following Chapter after that Chapter:

“CHAPTER 2

Special provisions relating to dematerialised securities

Interpretation (Chapter 2)

78A.(1) In this Chapter—

‘central securities depository’ or ‘CSD’ has the same meaning as in the CSD Regulation;

‘CSD Regulation’ means Regulation 909/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on improving securities settlement in the European Union and on central securities depositories and amending Directives 98/26/EC and 2014/65/EU and Regulation (EU) No. 236/2012;

‘dematerialised securities’ means securities in respect of which physical certificates or documents of title indicating ownership have been eliminated such that the securities exist only as accounting or book entry records;

‘depository receipt’ means a security which represents ownership of an underlying security and which can be traded independently of the underlying security;

‘immobilisation’ means the act of concentrating the location of securities in, or on behalf of, a CSD in a way that enables subsequent transfers of interests in those securities to be made by book entry;

‘interest in securities’ means—

(a) any legal or equitable interest or right in, or in relation to, a security,

(b) a depository receipt,

(c) an indirect interest or right in, or in relation to, underlying securities arising from the immobilisation or dematerialisation of the securities, or

(d) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (c), an interest or right in, or in relation to, securities which are held in, or on behalf of, a CSD, the rules of which require holders of interests or rights in, or in relation to, securities to hold those interests or rights by way of a co-ownership interest in a fungible pool of underlying securities;

‘relevant system’ means a securities settlement system that is operated by a CSD;

‘securities’ means any stocks or marketable securities;

‘securities settlement system’ means a formal arrangement with common rules and standardised arrangements for the execution of transfer orders by electronic means;

‘third country CSD’ means a CSD located outside the European Union that would come within the CSD Regulation if it were located in the European Union;

‘transfer order’ means a properly authenticated instruction to transfer an interest in securities.

(2) A reference to a CSD in this Chapter includes a reference to a third country CSD.

(3) This Chapter applies solely to the transfer of interests in dematerialised securities.

Transfer of interest in securities through relevant system

78B.(1) Where a transfer order effects a transfer of an interest in securities through a relevant system, the transfer order shall, for all purposes of this Act, be deemed to be an executed instrument of conveyance or transfer of such securities, the date of execution of which shall be deemed to be the date of execution of the transfer order.

(2) A transfer order that effects a transfer of an interest in securities outside a relevant system shall be deemed to be a transfer order effecting such a transfer through a relevant system and subsection (1) shall apply accordingly.

(3) Where a transfer of an interest in securities is effected by a transfer order relating to a single netted settlement of two or more contracts for the transfer of interests in the same type of securities, each individual contract constituting the single netted settlement shall be deemed to be a transfer order and subsection (1) shall apply accordingly.

Relief for intermediaries and clearing houses

78C.In relation to a transfer order or a deemed transfer order referred to in section 78B—

(a) the exemption from stamp duty under section 75(3) in relation to a recognised intermediary (within the meaning of subsection (1) of that section) in respect of certain instruments of transfer shall also apply in respect of the transfer order or deemed transfer order and section 75 shall apply accordingly, and

(b) the exemption from stamp duty under section 75A(2) in relation to a recognised clearing house (within the meaning of subsection (1) of that section) in respect of certain instruments of transfer shall also apply in respect of the transfer order or deemed transfer order and section 75A shall apply accordingly.

Duty charged

78D. (1) Where a transfer order, or a deemed transfer order, is, by virtue of section 78B, chargeable with stamp duty under or by reference to the heading ‘CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any stocks or marketable securities’ in Schedule 1, duty shall be charged under that heading at the rate of one per cent of the consideration for the transfer to which the transfer order, or deemed transfer order, gives effect.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1)—

(a) where a transfer operates as a voluntary disposition inter vivos, the reference in that subsection to the consideration for the transfer shall, in relation to the duty to be charged, be construed as a reference to the value of the interest transferred, and

(b) where the calculation results in an amount that is not a multiple of one cent, the amount so calculated shall be rounded to the nearest cent, and any half of a cent shall be rounded up to the next whole cent.

Payment of duty

78E.(1) Subject to subsection (2), any duty charged by virtue of section 78B shall be due and payable on, and shall be paid to the Commissioners on, the date on which the transfer order, or deemed transfer order is executed.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Commissioners may enter into an agreement with a CSD, or other party, in such form and on such terms and conditions as they think fit, in relation to the payment of stamp duty and where such an agreement is in force, any duty paid in accordance with the agreement shall be deemed to have been paid to the Commissioners on the date on which it became due and payable.

(3) Notwithstanding section 2(3), the transfer order, or deemed transfer order, that is charged to stamp duty by virtue of section 78B shall not be required to be stamped and, accordingly, sections 4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 20, 127 and 129(1) shall not apply.

(4) For the purposes of subsections (3) and (4) of section 2, the transfer order, or deemed transfer order, that is charged to stamp duty by virtue of section 78B shall be deemed to be duly stamped with the proper stamp duty when such duty, and any interest relating to such duty, is paid to the Commissioners.

(5) Where duty that is due and payable on the date on which the transfer order, or deemed transfer order, is executed is paid after that date, interest shall be charged on that duty, calculated in accordance with section 159D from the date on which the transfer order, or deemed transfer order, is executed to the date of payment of the unpaid duty.

Assessments and appeals

78F.(1) If, at any time and for any reason, it appears that no or insufficient duty has been paid to the Commissioners, they shall make an assessment of such amount of duty or additional duty as, to the best of their knowledge, information and belief, ought to be charged, levied and paid and the accountable person shall be liable for the payment of the duty so assessed.

(2) If, at any time and for any reason, it appears that an assessment is incorrect, the Commissioners shall make such other assessment as they consider appropriate and this other assessment shall be substituted for the first-mentioned assessment.

(3) An accountable person aggrieved by an assessment made on that person under this section may appeal the assessment to the Appeal Commissioners, in accordance with section 949I of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, within the period of 30 days after the date of the notice of assessment.

(4) In default of an appeal, in accordance with subsection (3), being made by an accountable person to whom a notice of assessment has been issued, the assessment made on the person is final and conclusive.

Overpayment and repayment of duty

78G. (1) Where, on a claim in accordance with subsection (2), it is proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that there has been an overpayment of duty in relation to a charge to duty by virtue of section 78B, the overpayment shall be repaid.

(2) A claim for repayment shall be made in such form and manner as may

be decided by the Commissioners.

(3) A claim for repayment shall be made within the period of 4 years from the date of execution of the transfer order or deemed transfer order giving rise to the claim.

Obligations and penalties

78H.(1) Where a transfer order, or a deemed transfer order, effects a transfer of an interest in securities, a CSD, a transferee or a person acting on a transferee’s behalf in relation to the transfer of the interest in securities, as the case may be, shall—

(a) retain evidence in legible written form, or readily convertible into such a form, in sufficient detail to establish the amount of duty, if any, with which the transfer order or deemed transfer order was chargeable,

(b) retain the evidence referred to in paragraph (a) for a period of 6 years from the date on which the transfer order or deemed transfer order was executed, and

(c) make any such evidence available to the Commissioners on request.

(2) A CSD, a transferee or a person acting on a transferee’s behalf in relation to the transfer of the interest in securities, as the case may be, who fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be liable to a penalty of €1,265.”.”.