Finance Act, 1997

Surcharges.

121.—(1) In this section—

(a) a reference to a sale includes a reference to a lease,

(b) a reference to a vendor includes a reference to a lessor,

(c) a reference to a vendee includes a reference to a lessee,

(d) a reference to subsection (1A) of section 58 of the Act of 1891 includes a reference to subsection (6) of section 77 of the Act of 1891, and

(e) “residential consideration” means—

(i) in the case of a sale to which paragraph (a) of subsection (1A) of section 58 of the Act of 1891 refers, the amount or value of the consideration for the sale which is deemed to be attributable to residential property, and

(ii) in the case of a sale to which paragraph (b) of subsection (1A) of section 58 of the Act of 1891 refers, the amount or value of the aggregate consideration (within the meaning of that subsection) which is deemed to be attributable to residential property.

(2) Where, in relation to any sale, the provisions of subsection (1A) of section 58 of the Act of 1891 apply, an estimate (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “vendor's estimate” or as the “vendee's estimate”, as the case may be) of the residential consideration shall be made by the vendor and by the vendee and those estimates together with the amount or value of the aggregate consideration (within the meaning of that subsection), shall be brought to the attention of the Commissioners in the statement delivered under the provisions of subsection (2) of section 5 of that Act and that statement shall be signed by the vendor and the vendee and where the requirements of this subsection are not complied with any person who executes the instrument whereby that sale is effected shall for the purposes of subsection (3) of section 5 of that Act be presumed, until the contrary is proven, to have acted negligently:

Provided that where—

(a) the aggregate consideration (within the meaning of subsection (1A) of section 58 of the Act of 1891), or

(b) in the case where the sale does not form part of a larger transaction or of a series of transactions, the consideration for the sale,

does not exceed £150,000, those estimates need not be brought to the attention of the Commissioners in that statement unless a request in that regard is made by the Commissioners.

(3) Where the vendee's estimate (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the “submitted value”) is less than the residential value agreed with, or ascertained by, the Commissioners (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the “ascertained value”) then, as a penalty, the duty chargeable upon the instrument shall be increased by an amount (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the “surcharge”) calculated according to the following provisions:

(a) where the submitted value is less than the ascertained value by an amount which is greater than 10 per cent. of the ascertained value but not greater than 30 per cent. of the ascertained value, a surcharge equal to 50 per cent. of the difference between the duty chargeable by reference to the ascertained value and the duty chargeable by reference to the submitted value;

(b) where the submitted value is less than the ascertained value by an amount which is greater than 30 per cent. of the ascertained value, a surcharge equal to the difference between the duty chargeable by reference to the ascertained value and the duty chargeable by reference to the submitted value:

Provided that—

(i) notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary in the Act of 1891, the vendee shall, subject to subparagraph (ii) of this proviso, be entitled to recover from the vendor one-half of that surcharge,

(ii) where the vendor's estimate is greater than the submitted value, the amount which the vendee shall be entitled to recover from the vendor shall not exceed one-half of what the surcharge would be if the submitted value were equal to the vendor's estimate.