Stamp Duty: Late Stamping of Instruments

Late Stamping Penalties & Interest

An instrument may be stamped within 30 days of the date of its execution without incurring interest and penalties. Under section 14 of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, an instrument may be stamped after the period of 30 days (in practice this period is extended to 44 days) on payment of the unpaid stamp duty together with—

• statutory interest calculated from the date of execution of the instrument to the date of payment of the duty,
• a fixed penalty of €25 and
• a further penalty (“the surcharge penalty”) equal to-
  • 10% of the duty where the instrument is presented for stamping not more than 6 months from the date of execution of the instrument,
  • 20% of the duty where the instrument is presented for stamping after 6 months but not more than 12 months from the date of execution of the instrument,
  • 30% of the duty where the instrument is presented for stamping after 12 months from the date of execution of the instrument.

Section 81 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008

Section 81 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 provides for the remission of the fixed penalty of €25 and the surcharge penalty (but not interest) payable on late stamping of instruments executed before 24 December 2008 (the date of the enactment of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008) where such instruments:—

• are delivered to the Revenue Commissioners by 17 February 2009 (i.e. before the expiration of 56 days commencing on 24 December 2008) and
• the duty chargeable, together with interest on that duty, is also paid by that date.

In administering the provisions of section 81, Revenue wish to clarify that, where the unpaid duty was chargeable on an instrument executed before 17 February 1999 it will be deemed, for interest calculation purposes, to be chargeable from that date. This is in line with current administrative practice in connection with other time-limited voluntary disclosure schemes.