Part 5Miscellaneous provisions

Part 5—Miscellaneous provisions 106—Spoiled or unused stamps (1) Subject to any regulations made under this Act, the Commissioner may, on the application of any person in possession of stamps or stamped material unused or rendered useless by being inadvertently spoiled, give to that person, in lieu of the stamps or stamped material so spoiled or unused, other stamps (of the same or another denomination) of the same value or, at his discretion, money of the same value, deducting the proper allowance on purchase of stamps of the same description; but the Commissioner may, if he thinks it just to do so, refrain from making any such deduction. (2) For the purposes of Part 4 of the Taxation Administration Act 1996— (a) an application under this section is to be taken to be an application for a refund; and (b) the giving of stamps or money under this section is to be taken to be the making of a refund. stamp includes an adhesive stamp purchased or otherwise obtained from the Commissioner or a distributor of stamps under this Act before the commencement of Part 5 of the Statutes Amendment and Repeal (Taxation Administration) Act 2008; stamped includes having an adhesive stamp affixed before the commencement of Part 5 of the Statutes Amendment and Repeal (Taxation Administration) Act 2008. 107—Transfer of property to correct error (1) If the Commissioner is satisfied, on application by a party to an instrument submitted for stamping, that the sole purpose of the instrument is to reverse or correct a disposition of property resulting from an error in an earlier instrument, the Commissioner may grant relief from stamp duty under this section. (2) The Commissioner may require the applicant to provide such information (verified if the Commissioner thinks fit by statutory declaration) as the Commissioner thinks necessary to decide the application. (3) If the Commissioner grants relief from stamp duty under this section, the duty chargeable on the instrument is the amount (if any) by which the duty that would have been paid on the earlier instrument if it had been correctly made in the first instance exceeds the amount of duty actually paid on that instrument. 108—Penalties for certain offences (1) Any person who— (a) forges any die or stamp; (b) impresses any material with a forged die; (c) cuts, tears or in any way removes from any material any stamp with intent to make fraudulent use of the stamp or of any part thereof; (d) mutilates any stamp with intent to make fraudulent use of any part thereof; (e) fraudulently fixes or places upon any material, or upon any stamp, any stamp or part of a stamp which has been cut, torn or in any way removed from any other material or out of or from any other stamp; (f) erases or otherwise removes from any stamped material any name, sum, date or other matter or thing therein written with the intent that any fraudulent use should be made of the stamp upon the material; (g) knowingly sells or exposes for sale, or utters or uses, any forged stamp; (h) knowingly and without lawful excuse (the proof of which lawful excuse shall lie on the person accused) has in his possession any forged die or stamp, or any stamp or part of a stamp which has been fraudulently cut, torn or otherwise removed from any material, or any stamp which has been fraudulently mutilated, or any stamped material out of which any name, sum, date or other matter or thing has been fraudulently erased or otherwise removed, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than seven years. (2) Any person who causes to be done, or knowingly assists in doing, any of the acts mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (h) shall be deemed to be guilty of the principal offence and shall be punishable accordingly. 109—Anti-avoidance provision prescribed date, in relation to a prescribed instrument, means the date that duty would have been payable in the ordinary course of events, as determined by the Commissioner, rather than on account of the scheme, contract, agreement, arrangement or undertaking that has been entered into (in the opinion of the Commissioner) in order, wholly or in part, to avoid or reduce a liability to duty; prescribed instrument or transaction means an instrument or transaction that— (a) has been entered into in connection with, or as part of; or (b) has been made pursuant to or in relation to; or (c) is in any other way connected with, a scheme, contract, agreement, arrangement or undertaking entered into, wholly or in part, to avoid or reduce a liability to duty on account of— (d) a change in the amount of duty payable on or after 1 July 2016 on account of the operation of section 71DC as to be inserted (or as inserted) into this Act by the Statutes Amendment and Repeal (Budget 2015) Act 2015; or (e) the abolition of duty on qualifying land on or after 1 July 2018 on account of the operation of section 105A, as to be inserted (or as inserted) into this Act by the Statutes Amendment and Repeal (Budget 2015) Act 2015. (2) If the Commissioner forms the opinion that an instrument or transaction executed or entered into on or after 18 June 2015 is a prescribed instrument or transaction, the duty chargeable on the instrument or in relation to the transaction will be calculated according to the rates in force on the prescribed date. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the Commissioner may have regard to— (a) the nature of any relationship between the parties to the instrument or transaction; and (b) any commercial or other arrangements existing between the parties to the instrument or transaction before the instrument was entered into, made or executed or the transaction was entered into; and (c) any arrangements surrounding or relating to any land that is the subject of the instrument or transaction before the instrument was entered into, made or executed or the transaction was entered into; and (d) any other matter the Commissioner considers relevant. (4) This section— (a) operates to the exclusion of section 16; and (b) operates in addition to Part 6A of the Taxation Administration Act 1996. (5) In addition, if the Commissioner forms an opinion in relation to an instrument or transaction under subsection (2)— (a) a deliberate tax default will be taken to have occurred on the prescribed date for the purposes of the Taxation Administration Act 1996; but (b) the Commissioner may not— (i) remit any interest; or (ii) remit any penalty tax, payable under Part 5 of that Act. 111—Remedy for misappropriation (1) The Supreme Court may, upon application by, or on behalf of, the Commissioner, grant a rule requiring any person who has received money payable by way of duty, or the executor or administrator of any such person, to show cause why he should not deliver to the Commissioner an account upon affidavit of any duty or sum of money received by that person, executor or administrator and why it should not be forthwith paid to the Commissioner. (2) The Court may make absolute such a rule and enforce by attachment or otherwise the payment of any such duty or sum of money as appears to be due, together with costs. 112—Regulations (1) The Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by, or necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act. (2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the regulations may— (a) be of general or limited application; and (b) require the use of forms approved by the Commissioner for documents required or authorised to be used for the purposes of this Act or the regulations; and (c) leave any other matter to be determined, varied or regulated according to the discretion of the Commissioner; and (ca) prescribe fines, not exceeding $2 000, for offences against the regulations; and (d) make different prescriptions according to prescribed circumstances. 114—Exemption from stamp duty (1) The Governor may, by proclamation, exempt any body or authority established by statute from the payment of duty under this Act. (2) The Governor may, by subsequent proclamation, vary or revoke a proclamation under this section.