(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
A.C.T. Commissioner means the Commissioner for Australian Capital Territory Revenue Collections appointed under the Taxation Administration Ordinance 1987 of the Australian Capital Territory.
adhesive stamp means an adhesive stamp made in pursuance of subsection 8(1).
aircraft means a machine or apparatus that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air or from buoyancy, but does not include an air‑cushion vehicle.
approved means approved for the purposes of this Act by the Commissioner.
assessment means:
(a) an assessment under this Act by the Commissioner of the amount of duty or tax payable under this Act (including an assessment of tax in respect of a return); or
(b) an assessment of the Commissioner under this Act of an additional amount payable under section 70;
and includes an amended assessment.
Australian Stock Exchange means the Sydney Stock Exchange, the Stock Exchange of Melbourne, the Brisbane Stock Exchange, the Stock Exchange of Adelaide, the Stock Exchange of Perth or the Hobart Stock Exchange.
authority of the Commonwealth or of a Territory means a body corporate (not being an incorporated company, society or association) incorporated for a public purpose by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory.
bill of exchange means an unconditional order in writing, addressed by one person to another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay on demand, or at a fixed or determinable future time, a sum certain in money to or to the order of a specified person, or to bearer.
borrower means:
(a) in relation to:
(i) a loan security; or
(ii) an instrument of the kind referred to in subsection 58M(1);
the borrower or the person bound;
(b) in relation to an instrument lodged under subsection 58R(2) by a body corporate—the body corporate; or
(c) in relation to an instrument of trust referred to in paragraph (g) of the definition of mortgage in section 58H—the person who issued the corporate debentures to which the instrument relates.
broker means a member of an Australian Stock Exchange.
cancel, in relation to an adhesive stamp, means cancel the stamp as provided by subsection 14(1), and cancelled and cancellation have corresponding meanings.
changeover day means the date of commencement of section 59 of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act (No. 2) 1987.
cheque means a bill of exchange drawn on a banker payable on demand, and includes a promissory note payable on demand made by a banker.
Commonwealth Commissioner means the Commissioner of Taxation.
company includes a body, society, association, authority or institution, whether corporate or unincorporate, but does not include a partnership.
conveyance means a lease, a transfer or assignment of a lease, an agreement for a transfer or assignment of a lease, or a transfer, or an agreement for a transfer, of an estate in fee simple in land.
corporate debenture means a debenture of a body corporate and includes debenture stock, a bond, a note and any other security of a body corporate, whether it constitutes a charge on assets of the body corporate or not.
Crown lease means a lease granted by or in the name of the Commonwealth.
debenture includes debenture stock, bond, note and any other security of a company, whether it constitutes a charge on assets of the company or not.
duty means stamp duty.
execute, in relation to an instrument, means sign the instrument and, if the instrument is under seal, sign and seal the instrument, and execution has a corresponding meaning.
goods includes all chattels personal other than money or things in action.
hire‑purchase agreement includes a letting of goods with an option to purchase and an agreement for the purchase of goods by instalments (whether the agreement describes the instalments as rent or hire or otherwise), but does not include an agreement:
(a) by which the property in the goods comprised in the agreement passes at the time of the agreement or upon or at a time before delivery of the goods; or
(b) under which the goods are being hired or purchased primarily for the purpose of re‑sale by a person who is engaged in the trade or business of selling goods of the same nature or description as the goods comprised in the agreement.
hirer, in relation to a hire‑purchase agreement, means the person to whom goods are let, hired or agreed to be sold under the agreement.
holder, in relation to a bill of exchange or promissory note, means the payee or indorsee in possession of the bill of exchange or promissory note or, in the case of a bill of exchange or promissory note that is payable to bearer, the person in possession of the bill of exchange or promissory note.
impressed stamp means a stamp impressed by the Commissioner by means of a die or other device made in pursuance of subsection 8(1).
instrument includes any document.
insurance means an undertaking of liability to make good, or indemnify against, loss or damage (including liability to pay damages or compensation), or insuring the payment of money, contingent upon the happening of a specified event, and includes:
(a) the accepting of a premium in consideration of the granting, issuing or keeping in force of a policy of insurance;
(b) the granting of a cover note or the receiving of a letter or declaration of interest attaching to a policy of insurance; and
(c) the carrying out, by means of insurance effected outside the Territory, of a contract or undertaking in the Territory to effect that insurance;
but does not include re‑insurance effected with another insurer.
insurer means a person who carries on the business of insurance, and includes an authority constituted under a law of a State that carries on the business of insurance, but does not include the Defence Service Homes Corporation.
international trade insurance means:
(a) insurance of freight against loss or damage in the course of, or incidental to, international transport of the freight;
(b) insurance of an aircraft or ship against loss or damage during a particular period when the aircraft or ship is under construction or undergoing refitting, maintenance or repairs where, at the time the insurance was effected, the aircraft or ship was intended by the owner to be used wholly or principally for the international transport of freight for an indefinitely continuing period commencing immediately after the completion of the construction, refitting, maintenance or repairs, as the case may be;
(c) insurance of an aircraft or ship against loss or damage in the course of, or incidental to, a particular journey or journeys where, at the time the insurance was effected, it was intended by the owner that the journey or journeys would be wholly or principally for the international transport of freight; or
(d) insurance of an aircraft or ship against loss or damage during a particular period where, at the time the insurance was effected, the aircraft or ship was intended by the owner to be used during that period wholly or principally for the international transport of freight.
international transport, in relation to freight, means the transport in, or in connection with, trade or commerce, of the freight between:
(a) a place in a foreign country; and
(b) a place in:
(i) another foreign country;
(ii) Australia; or
(iii) an external Territory.
lease includes a sublease and an agreement for a lease or sublease, but does not include:
(a) an attornment under a mortgage or contract of sale;
(b) a right granted by a company to a shareholder of the company, by virtue of his being such a shareholder, to occupy or use land owned or held under lease by the company; or
(c) an option to renew a lease.
lessee means a person to whom a lease is granted or agreed to be granted.
life insurance means insurance insuring the payment of money on death (not being death by accident only or specified sickness only) or on the happening of a contingency dependent upon the termination or continuance of human life (either with or without provision for a benefit under a continuous disability contract referred to in paragraph (c)), and includes:
(a) insurance under an instrument evidencing a contract that is subject to payment of premiums for a term dependent upon the determination or continuance of human life;
(b) insurance under an instrument securing the grant of an annuity for a term dependent upon the termination or continuance of human life;
(c) insurance under a continuous disability insurance contract (which is by its terms expressed to be of more than one year’s duration and is incorporated in a life policy) under which a person is to become entitled to a benefit in the event of the occurrence, within the duration of the contract, of death by accident or by another cause specified in the contract, or injury or disability caused by accident or sickness; and
(d) insurance under a sinking fund policy insuring the payment of a sum, or series of sums, of money on a future date or dates in consideration of one or more premiums.
loan security means:
(a) a mortgage within the meaning of Division 12 of Part III;
(b) a corporate debenture; or
(c) a bond, or a covenant, for securing a loan made or to be made;
but does not include an instrument included in a prescribed class of instruments.
marketable security means:
(a) a share in the capital of a company; or
(b) a unit in relation to a unit trust scheme;
and includes a right, whether existing or future and whether contingent or not, of a person to have issued to the person such a share or unit, whether on payment of money or other consideration or not.
member of a diplomatic mission means the head of a diplomatic mission or a member of the diplomatic staff or administrative and technical staff of a diplomatic mission.
Motor Traffic Ordinance means the Motor Traffic Ordinance 1936 of the Australian Capital Territory.
negotiation, in relation to a bill of exchange or promissory note, means acceptance, indorsement or transfer of the bill of exchange or promissory note, and negotiated has a corresponding meaning.
non‑commercial Commonwealth authority means a body corporate (not being an incorporated company, society or association) that:
(a) is incorporated for a public purpose by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of the Territory; and
(b) does not have as its sole or principal function the carrying on of an activity in the nature of a business, whether or not for profit.
non‑resident means a person who is not a resident of Australia.
owner, in relation to a hire‑purchase agreement, means the person letting, hiring or agreeing to sell goods under the agreement.
person includes a company.
premium, in relation to insurance, means the gross amount charged or payable as premium in respect of the insurance without deduction for an amount paid or payable or allowed or allowable by way of discount or commission to an agent or other person for securing or arranging that insurance for or on behalf of the insurer, and includes an instalment of a premium.
premium received includes an amount credited in account in the books of an insurer in respect of insurance as a premium received for that insurance, whether by way of a charge made by the insurer against moneys due to the person insured by the insurance, or otherwise, but does not include, where the head office for Australia of an insurer is in the Territory, a premium noted only in the books of the head office as a premium received in a branch or agency of the insurer outside the Territory.
promissory note means an unconditional promise in writing made by one person to another, signed by the maker, engaging to pay, on demand or at a fixed or determinable future time, a sum certain in money, to or to the order of a specified person, or to bearer.
purchase price, in relation to a hire‑purchase agreement, means the total amount of moneys paid or payable, and the value of any other consideration provided or to be provided, by the hirer under the agreement less the sum of:
(a) the amount of any deposit or other money or the value of any other consideration paid or given by the hirer at or before the execution of the agreement as part consideration;
(b) the total amount payable under the agreement for or by way of interest, insurance or other charge; and
(c) an amount:
(i) payable under the agreement;
(ii) designated as stamp duty on the agreement or as tax in respect of the agreement; and
(iii) not exceeding the amount of the stamp duty or tax.
Real Property Ordinance means the Real Property Ordinance 1925 of the Australian Capital Territory.
registered owner means a person who is registered under Division 4 of Part III.
registered under a corresponding law, in relation to a vehicle, means registered or licensed (whether originally or by way of renewal or transfer or otherwise) under a law of a State or Territory providing for the registration or licensing of vehicles, and registration, in connection with such a law, has a corresponding meaning.
Registrar means the Registrar of Motor Vehicles appointed in pursuance of the Motor Traffic Ordinance.
registration, in relation to a vehicle, means registration under the Motor Traffic Ordinance, whether by way of original registration or renewal or transfer of registration or otherwise, and register and registered have corresponding meanings.
rent does not include an amount in the nature of a penal rent.
return means a return under section 24, 32, 42, 44E or 53.
scheme means:
(a) an agreement, arrangement, understanding, promise or undertaking, whether express or implied and whether or not enforceable, or intended to be enforceable, by legal proceedings; and
(b) a scheme, plan, proposal, action, course of action or course of conduct;
and includes a unilateral scheme, plan, proposal, action, course of action or course of conduct.
scheme to avoid or reduce stamp duty means a scheme, where the person who has, or one or more of the persons who have, entered into or carried out the scheme or a part of the scheme, did so for the purpose of securing:
(a) that an amount of duty would not be payable by a person, being an amount that would have been, or might reasonably be expected to have been, payable by the person;
(b) that an amount of duty payable by a person would be less than the amount that would have been, or might reasonably be expected to have been, payable by the person; or
(c) that a refund of duty would be payable to a person, being a refund that would not have been, or might reasonably be expected not to have been, payable to the person;
if the scheme had not been entered into or carried out, or for purposes of which that purpose was the dominant purpose.
ship means a vessel or boat of any description, and includes:
(a) an air‑cushion vehicle; and
(b) a floating structure.
stamp duty means stamp duty imposed by the Australian Capital Territory Stamp Duty Act 1969.
tax means a tax imposed by the Australian Capital Territory Tax (Sales of Marketable Securities) Act 1969, the Australian Capital Territory Tax (Purchases of Marketable Securities) Act 1969 the Australian Capital Territory Tax (Transfers of Marketable Securities) Act 1986, the Australian Capital Territory Tax (Insurance Business) Act 1969, the Australian Capital Territory Tax (Life Insurance Business) Act 1981, the Australian Capital Territory Tax (Vehicle Registration) Act 1981, the Australian Capital Territory Tax (Cheques) Act 1969 or the Australian Capital Territory Tax (Hire‑purchase Business) Act 1969.
termination day means:
(a) in relation to tax or duty of a particular class or classes in respect of which a day is fixed by Proclamation as the termination day—that day; and
(b) in any other case—the changeover day.
the Territory means the Australian Capital Territory and includes the Jervis Bay Territory.
third party insurance means insurance effected for the purpose of, and in accordance with the requirements of, a law of a State or Territory relating to the compulsory insurance of the owners and drivers of motor vehicles, as defined by that law, against liability in respect of the death of, or bodily injury to, persons caused by or arising out of the use of the motor vehicles.
Tribunal means the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
trustee includes:
(a) a person constituted a trustee under an implied or constructive trust;
(b) in relation to a deceased person, an executor of the will, or an administrator of the estate, of that deceased person;
(c) a receiver, guardian, committee or manager of the property of a person under a legal or other disability;
(d) a receiver or manager of the property of a company or a liquidator of a company for the purpose of its winding‑up;
(e) a broker who executes a transfer of a marketable security as transferee on behalf of another person for the purpose of safeguarding the interests of that person in relation to dividends payable to the holder of that marketable security or in relation to the issue of other marketable securities to which the holder of that first‑mentioned marketable security becomes entitled by reason of being such a holder; and
(f) a person who may be required to exercise his voting power in relation to a marketable security at the direction of, or holds the marketable security for the benefit of, another person.
unit, in relation to a unit trust scheme, means a right or interest (whether described as a unit or sub‑unit or otherwise) of a beneficiary under the scheme.
unit trust means a trust to which a unit trust scheme relates.
unit trust scheme means any arrangements made for the purpose, or having the effect, of providing, for a person having funds available for investment, facilities for the participation by the person, as a beneficiary under a trust, in any profits or income arising from the acquisition, holding, management or disposal of any property pursuant to the trust.
vehicle means:
(a) a motor vehicle within the meaning of the Motor Traffic Ordinance; or
(b) a trailer within the meaning of that Ordinance.
(2) For the purposes of the definition of bill of exchange in subsection (1), an order to pay out of a particular fund or within a specified time is not unconditional within the meaning of that definition, but an unqualified order to pay coupled with an indication of a particular account to be debited with the amount is unconditional.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, a reference to the duly stamping of an instrument is a reference:
(a) in relation to an instrument the duty on which is required or permitted by this Act to be denoted by an adhesive stamp—to the affixing of an adhesive stamp to the instrument having a value not less than the amount of the duty and the cancellation of the stamp in accordance with this Act; and
(b) in relation to an instrument the duty on which is required or permitted by this Act to be denoted by impressed stamp—to the impressing on the instrument by the Commissioner of a stamp of the amount of the duty.
(4) Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act to a broker includes, where the broker is a member of a firm of brokers, a reference to that firm.
(6) For the purposes of this Act, an application for the registration of a vehicle shall be taken to be made at the time when the application, duly made in pursuance of the requirements of the Motor Traffic Ordinance, is received by the Registrar.
(7) For the purposes of this Act:
(a) a vehicle registered in the name of a partnership (but not in the names of the several partners), or on behalf of a partnership, shall be deemed to be registered in the names of the persons who are members of the partnership at the time of the registration;
(b) a vehicle registered (otherwise than as described in paragraph (a)) in the name of a business name registered under the Business Names Ordinance 1963 of the Australian Capital Territory shall be deemed to be registered in the name or names of the person or persons in relation to whom that business name is registered under that Ordinance at the time of the registration of the vehicle; and
(c) a vehicle registered on behalf of a body corporate (otherwise than as described in paragraph (b)) shall be deemed to be registered in the name of that body corporate.
(8) For the purposes of subsection (7), registered, in relation to a vehicle, includes registered under a corresponding law, and registration has a corresponding meaning.
(9) For the purposes of this Act:
(a) where a bill of exchange or promissory note is dated, the bill or note shall, unless the contrary is shown, be deemed to have been drawn or made on that date; and
(b) an instrument shall be deemed to have been executed on the date on which the last party to the instrument appears to have executed it.
(10) The reference in paragraph (c) of the definition of loan security in subsection (1) to a loan includes a reference to:
(a) an advance of money;
(b) money paid for or on account of or on behalf of or at the request of a person;
(c) a forbearance to require payment of money owing on any account; and
(d) a transaction (whatever its terms or form) which in substance effects a loan of money.
(11) For the purposes of this Act, a loan security shall be taken to be connected with the Territory if, and only if:
(a) in a case where the loan security subjects property to a security—the whole or a part of that property is situated in the Territory; or
(b) in any case—the loan security is executed in the Territory by the borrower.
(12) For the purposes of this Act, a loan security that is not executed shall be deemed to be executed when and where it is issued.
(13) In this Act, a reference to the amount secured by a loan security is, in relation to a mortgage within the meaning of Division 12 of Part III, being an instrument of trust referred to in paragraph (g) of the definition of mortgage in section 58H, a reference to the amount repayable in respect of the corporate debentures to which the instrument relates.
(14) A reference in this Act to the registration of a transfer of a marketable security includes a reference to the recording or entry of the transfer.