50ARefund of duty where agreement not completed

#### 50A Refund of duty where agreement not completed (1) Where: (a) on or after 14 October 1982, an amount of duty is paid by a person on an agreement, being an agreement: (i) for a transfer by a person (in this subsection referred to as the transferor) to another person (in this subsection referred to as the transferee) of an estate in fee simple in land situated in the Territory or of a lease of such land; or (ii) for an assignment by a person (in this subsection referred to as the assignor) to another person (in this subsection referred to as the assignee) of a lease of such land; (b) the agreement is void, is unenforceable (both at law and in equity), is rescinded, or comes to an end; and (c) the Commissioner is satisfied that no transfer or assignment has been, or may reasonably be expected to be, made in pursuance of the agreement; there shall, subject to this section, be refunded to the person by whom the amount of duty was paid: (d) in a case to which paragraph (e) does not apply—an amount equal to the amount of duty paid; or (e) if: (i) the transferee or assignee has gone into possession of the land; or (ii) another person has gone into possession of the land at the request of, or under an arrangement with, the transferee or assignee; and the agreement is rescinded or comes to an end—the amount (if any) by which the amount of duty paid exceeds the amount of duty that, in the opinion of the Commissioner, would have been payable on a lease of the land by the transferor to the transferee, or by the assignor to the assignee, as the case may be, for a term commencing on the earliest date on which the transferee or assignee, as the case may be, or a person of the kind referred to in subparagraph (ii), went into possession of the land, or, if that date is earlier than the date of the agreement, the date of the agreement, and ending on the date on which the agreement is rescinded or comes to an end, as the case may be. (1A) Where: (a) section 5A of the Australian Capital Territory Stamp Duty Act 1969 is applied, in relation to an agreement (in this subsection referred to as the chattels agreement) for the transfer or hiring of, or the granting or assignment of rights to use, chattels, in calculating the amount of duty on an instrument; (b) an amount of the duty has been paid by a person and is not required to be refunded under subsection (1) of this section; (c) the chattels agreement is void, is unenforceable (both at law and in equity), is rescinded or comes to an end; and (d) the Commissioner is satisfied that no transfer or hiring of, or granting or assignment of rights to use, chattels has been, or may reasonably be expected to be, made pursuant to the chattels agreement; there shall, subject to this section, be refunded to the person by whom the amount of the duty was paid so much of that duty as, in the opinion of the Commissioner, is attributable to the application of section 5A of the Australian Capital Territory Stamp Duty Act 1969. (2) Where: (a) as a result of a person or persons doing an act or omitting to do an act, a refund under this section would, but for this subsection, be payable to a person; and (b) the person or any of those persons did the act, or omitted to do the act, as the case requires, in connection with a scheme to avoid or reduce duty; the refund is not payable. (3) A refund under this section is not payable to a person in relation to an agreement unless the person furnishes to the Commissioner: (a) where the agreement is void or unenforceable—within 12 months after the person became aware of that fact; or (b) where the agreement is rescinded, or comes to an end, on a particular date—within 12 months after that date; an application in accordance with an approved form, together with such information as the Commissioner requires to enable him to determine the amount of the refund. (4) Where: (a) a refund under subsection (1) is paid to a person in relation to an agreement by reason that no transfer or assignment has been, or may reasonably be expected to be, made in pursuance of the agreement; and (b) a transfer or assignment is made at any time in pursuance of the agreement; then: (c) notwithstanding subsection 17(5), the agreement shall not be treated, for the purposes of this Act, as the original of the transfer or assignment, as the case may be; and (d) for the purposes of subsection 17(6): (i) the amount of duty paid on the agreement shall be deemed not to have been paid; and (ii) the agreement shall be deemed not to be duly stamped. (5) A reference in subsection (1) to going into possession of land includes a reference to receiving any of the rents and profits of the land. (6) In this section: > agreement includes an instrument purporting to be an agreement. > arrangement means any agreement, arrangement or understanding, whether formal or informal, whether express or implied and whether or not enforceable, or intended to be enforceable, by legal proceedings. > person, in relation to an agreement, means any person, whether or not the person is a party to the agreement.