The Stamp Duty (Production of Documents) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Subsection (1) of section 244 of the Finance Act 1994 (“section 244”) provides, subject to section 245 of that Act, (“section 245”) that on the occasion of any transfer on sale of any freehold interest in land in Northern Ireland, or the grant, or any transfer on sale, of any lease of such land, the instrument by means of which the transfer was effected or the lease was granted shall be produced to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue. Subsection (2) of section 244 provides that any person required to produce an instrument under subsection (1) of section 244 shall produce with it a document giving such particulars as may be prescribed by regulations.

Subsection (1) of section 245 provides that section 244 shall not apply to any instrument (“an exempt instrument”) falling within any prescribed class; but that regulations may, in respect of exempt instruments or such descriptions of exempt instruments as may be prescribed, require such a document as is mentioned in subsection (2) of section 244 to be furnished in accordance with the regulations to the Commissioner of Valuation for Northern Ireland.

These Regulations make provision with respect to the enactments contained in sections 244 and 245.

Regulation 1 provides for citation and commencement and regulation 2 for interpretation.

Regulation 3 and the Schedule to these Regulations prescribe the particulars to be given in a document produced pursuant to subsection (2) of section 244.

Regulation 4 prescribes classes of instrument which are exempt instruments for the purposes of subsection (1) of section 245 by reason of their having the characteristics specified in the regulation.

Regulations 5 and 6 make provision in certain cases for a document similar to that required to be produced pursuant to subsection (2) of section 244 to be produced to the Registrar of Titles or the Registrar of Deeds (as the case may be) and then furnished by the Registrar to the Commissioner of Valuation for Northern Ireland. The cases in question are those of an exempt instrument which relates to registered land and an exempt instrument which relates to unregistered land.