Stamp Duties Act 1929

Stamp Duties Act 1929

2021 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 16 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act relating to stamp duties.

[1 November 1929]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1.  This Act is the Stamp Duties Act 1929.

Interpretation

2.—(1)  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“bare trust beneficiary”, in relation to a trust over property, means a person —

(a) who is identified in the declaration of trust as a beneficiary of that property; and

(b) who, upon the declaration of the trust, has beneficial ownership of that property;

[Act 22 of 2022 wef 10/05/2022]

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Stamp Duties appointed under this Act;

“company” means any company incorporated or registered under any law in force in Singapore or elsewhere;

“conveyance on sale” includes every instrument and every decree or order of any court, by which any property, or any estate or interest in any property, upon the sale thereof is transferred to or vested in a purchaser or any other person on the purchaser’s behalf or by the purchaser’s direction;

“duly stamped”, as applied to an instrument chargeable with duty, means —

(a) that the instrument bears an adhesive or impressed stamp of not less than the proper amount, and that stamp has been affixed in accordance with the provisions of this Act for the time being in force at the time of stamping; or

(b) that the instrument, if stamped using the E‑Stamping system, has attached to it a stamp certificate issued for the instrument by the Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this Act for the time being in force at the time of stamping;

“duty” means any stamp duty for the time being chargeable under this Act or any other Act;

“E‑Stamping system” means the computer service mentioned in section 6B(1);

“equitable mortgage” means an agreement or a memorandum under hand only, relating to the deposit of any title deeds or instruments constituting or being evidence of the title to any property whatever (other than stock or marketable securities), or creating a charge on such property;

“executed” and “execution”, used with reference to instruments not under seal, mean “signed” and “signature”;

“instrument” includes every written document;

“lease” means a lease of immovable property, and includes the following:

(a) any undertaking in writing to cultivate, occupy or pay or deliver rent for immovable property;

(b) any instrument by which tolls, rents or profits of any description are let to farm;

(c) any writing on an application for a lease intended to signify that the application is granted;

“limited liability partnership” has the meaning given by the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005;

“marketable security” means a security of such a description as to be capable of being sold or negotiated in any stock market;

“Master Plan” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Planning Act 1998;

“money” includes all sums whether expressed in the currency of Singapore or in any other currency;

“mortgage” means a security by way of mortgage for the payment of any definite and certain sum of money advanced or lent at the time, or previously due or forborne to be paid, being payable, or for the repayment of money to be thereafter lent, advanced or paid, or which may become due upon an account current, together with any sum already advanced or due, or without (as the case may be), and includes —

(a) any conveyance of any property in trust to be sold or otherwise converted into money intended only as a security, and redeemable before the sale or other disposal of the property, either by express stipulation or otherwise;

(b) any instrument in writing for defeating or making redeemable, or explaining or qualifying any conveyance of property, apparently absolute, but intended only as a security;

(c) any agreement for a mortgage or any agreement (other than an agreement chargeable with duty as an equitable mortgage), contract or bond accompanied with a deposit of title deeds or with other instruments evidencing a right to property, for making a mortgage or any other security or conveyance as aforesaid of any property comprised in the title deeds or other instruments or for pledging or charging the same as a security; and

(d) any deed operating as a mortgage of any stock or marketable security;

“paper” includes every material upon which words or figures can be expressed;

“proper officer” means the Commissioner and such other officer as may be authorised by the Commissioner to impress stamps or to issue stamp certificates;

“residential property” means —

(a) any house, building or other premises or any part thereof which is permitted to be used under the Planning Act 1998 or any other written law as a dwelling house or which is lawfully so used; or

(b) any land zoned in the Master Plan for solely residential purposes or for mixed purposes, one of which is residential,

and includes any estate or interest therein;

“settlement” means any non‑testamentary disposition in writing whether made voluntarily or upon a good or valuable consideration other than a bona fide pecuniary consideration by which any definite and certain property is settled, or agreed to be settled, in any manner for any purpose;

“stamp certificate” means a certificate that is issued electronically in respect of any instrument chargeable with duty denoting the amount of duty payable in respect of that instrument or that the duty otherwise chargeable in respect of that instrument is remitted;

“stock” includes any share in the capital stock or funded debt of a company, corporation, society or VCC in Singapore or elsewhere and stocks or funds of the Government or of any other government or country;

“VCC Act” means the Variable Capital Companies Act 2018.

[33/99; 36/2008; 37/2018; 28/2019; 40/2019]

(2)  The following terms have the meanings given by the VCC Act:

(a) share, in relation to a VCC;

(b) sub‑fund;

(c) non‑umbrella VCC;

(d) umbrella VCC;

(e) VCC.

[28/2019]

Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of Stamp Duties

3.—(1)  The Minister may appoint an officer to carry out the provisions of this Act, to be called the Commissioner of Stamp Duties, and such number of Deputy Commissioners of Stamp Duties as the Minister thinks fit.

[Act 5 of 2025 wef 09/03/2025]

(1A)  An appointment under subsection (1) must be published in the Gazette.

[Act 5 of 2025 wef 09/03/2025]

(2)  Every Deputy Commissioner of Stamp Duties has and may exercise all the powers of the Commissioner under the provisions of this Act except subsection (3) and sections 40(3) and 68(1).

(3)  The Commissioner may, subject to such conditions or restrictions as the Commissioner thinks fit, delegate to any person having official duty or employed in the administration of this Act, all or any of the powers, functions and duties vested in the Commissioner by this Act.

PART 2

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO INSTRUMENTS GENERALLY

Liability of instruments to duty

Instruments chargeable with duty

4.—(1)  Subject to the provisions of this Act and any other written law, every instrument mentioned in the First Schedule, being an instrument —

(a) which, not having been previously executed by any person, is executed in Singapore; or

(b) which is executed outside Singapore, and relates to any property situated, or to any matter or thing done or to be done, in Singapore, and is received in Singapore,

is chargeable with duty of the amount specified in that Schedule as the proper duty for that instrument.

(2)  All instruments chargeable with duty must be duly stamped.

Payment of duty

All facts and circumstances to be set out

5.—(1)  All the facts and circumstances affecting the liability of any instrument to duty or the amount of the duty with which any instrument is chargeable are to be fully and truly set out in the instrument.

(2)  Where the liability of an instrument to duty or any amount of duty, is determined by facts or circumstances that are not set out in the instrument, those facts or circumstances must be provided to the Commissioner in such form and manner as the Commissioner may specify.

[13/2017]

(3)  The Commissioner may require to be furnished with such evidence as the Commissioner may consider necessary to prove that all such facts and circumstances are truly set out in the instrument or provided under subsection (2).

[13/2017]

Instrument relating to distinct matters

6.  Except where express provision to the contrary is made by this Act or any other Act —

(a) an instrument containing or relating to several distinct matters is to be separately and distinctly charged, as if it were a separate instrument, with duty in respect of each of the matters; and

(b) an instrument made for any consideration in respect of which it is chargeable with ad valorem duty, and also for any further or other valuable consideration or considerations, is to be separately and distinctly charged, as if it were a separate instrument, with duty in respect of each of the considerations.

How duties are denoted

6A.  Except where express provision is made to the contrary in this Act, all duties chargeable on any instrument are to be paid and denoted by attaching to the instrument a stamp certificate relating to the instrument.

E‑Stamping system

6B.—(1)  The computer service known as the E‑Stamping system and established under section 6B as in force immediately before 4 October 2018, may be used for the purposes mentioned in subsection (2).

[37/2018]

(2)  The purposes are to enable any person, in accordance with the arrangements made under this section —

(a) to do the following without the need to present the instrument concerned to the Commissioner or a proper officer in charge of the stamp office:

(i) obtain an assessment of stamp duty (and any penalty) on an instrument;

(ii) pay stamp duty (and any penalty) on the instrument by electronic funds transfer in accordance with the assessment;

(iii) stamp the instrument by attaching a stamp certificate to it or (in the case of an electronic instrument within the meaning of section 59) obtaining a stamp certificate for it, which bears an authorisation number issued for the instrument and such other particulars as are determined by the Commissioner; and

(b) to apply to the Commissioner for the adjudication of an instrument under section 37 and to obtain a certificate of adjudication from the Commissioner under section 38.

[37/2018]

(3)  The Commissioner may —

(a) determine the information and particulars that may be electronically transmitted under the E‑Stamping system, including the form and manner they are to be transmitted;

(b) determine the procedure for use of the E‑Stamping system, including the procedure in circumstances where there is a breakdown or an interruption in the computer service; and

(c) generally do such other things for the better provision of the computer service.

[37/2018]

Electronic assessment and stamping of instruments

6C.—(1)  For the purposes of this Act, the issue, using the E‑Stamping system, of a stamp certificate for an instrument must comprise an assessment of the duty (and any penalty) in relation to the instrument.

(2)  A person must, on receipt of a stamp certificate issued for the instrument by the Commissioner, immediately attach the stamp certificate to the instrument.

[37/2018]

Electronic funds transfer of duty

6D.—(1)  A person using the E‑Stamping system may maintain an electronic banking facility with a bank to enable the transfer of funds from the person’s designated account with the bank to an account specified by the Commissioner.

[37/2018]

(2)  The Commissioner must, on issuing to a person a stamp certificate in respect of any instrument that is chargeable with duty, immediately deduct through electronic funds transfer the full amount of duty chargeable from the designated account of the person.

[37/2018]

(3)  Nothing in subsection (2) requires the Commissioner to deduct any money from the designated account of the person if the funds in that designated account are less than the full amount of duty chargeable on the instrument.

[37/2018]

7.  [Repealed by Act 33 of 1999]

8.  [Repealed by Act 33 of 1999]

Composition of duty

9.—(1)  Where the Commissioner is of the opinion that it is impracticable or inexpedient to require that the duty payable under this Act should be charged and paid on each separate instrument, the Commissioner may by order authorise any person to compound the payment of duty on such instruments as may be specified in the order on the following conditions:

(a) that the person delivers to the Commissioner accounts in respect of the instruments at a date to be specified by the Commissioner in such form and containing such particulars as the Commissioner may direct;

(b) that, on delivery of the accounts required under paragraph (a), the person pays to the Commissioner the amount of duty due on all the instruments; and

(c) that the person complies with such other requirements as the Commissioner may impose.

[37/2018]

(2)  The Commissioner may, if the Commissioner thinks fit, waive any of the conditions in subsection (1).

(3)  Instruments in respect of which payment of duty by way of composition has been made under this section are, despite any other provision of this Act, deemed to be duly stamped.

(4)  The Commissioner may, by notice and for any reason the Commissioner deems fit, cancel any authorisation granted under subsection (1) and must, in such notice, specify the date from which the authorisation is cancelled.

(5)  Where a person fails or neglects to pay the whole of the amount of duty within the time required by subsection (1), the person shall be liable to pay, in addition to the unpaid amount of duty, a penalty under section 46.

10.  [Repealed by Act 33 of 1999]

Where duty chargeable depends on duty paid on another instrument

11.  Where the duty with which an instrument is chargeable, or its exemption from duty, depends in any manner upon the duty actually paid in respect of another instrument, the payment of such last mentioned duty may, if application is made to the Commissioner for that purpose, and on production of both the instruments, be denoted upon such firstmentioned instrument in such manner as the Minister may by rules prescribe.

Counterparts

12.—(1)  The duplicate or counterpart of an instrument chargeable with duty (except the counterpart of an instrument chargeable as a lease, such counterpart not being executed by or on behalf of any lessor or grantor) is not to be deemed duly stamped unless it is stamped as an original instrument.

[23/2011]

(2)  Without affecting subsection (1), the duplicate or counterpart of an instrument executed before 19 February 2011 and chargeable with duty is deemed duly stamped if it appears from the stamp certificate for the instrument that the instrument is a duplicate or counterpart.

[23/2011]

Instrument exempt from duty if its original is stamped, etc.

12A.  An instrument (whether it is the original or a duplicate or counterpart of an instrument) executed on or after 19 February 2011 is exempt from duty if the original or a duplicate or counterpart (as the case may be) of that instrument has been duly stamped.

[23/2011]

Valuation for duty

Currency and securities

13.—(1)  Where an instrument is chargeable with ad valorem duty in respect of —

(a) any money expressed in any currency other than that of Singapore; or

(b) any stock or marketable or other security,

the duty is to be calculated on the value, on the day of the date of the instrument, of the money in the currency of Singapore according to the current rate of exchange, or of the stock or security according to the average price of the stock or security or, if there is no price, according to the value of the stock or security.

(2)  Where an instrument contains a statement of current rate of exchange or average price (as the case may require) and is stamped in accordance with that statement, the instrument, so far as regards the subject matter of the statement, is presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be duly stamped.

Instruments reserving interest

14.  When interest or goods and services tax is expressly made payable by the terms of an instrument, the instrument is not chargeable with duty higher than that with which the instrument would have been chargeable if no mention of interest or goods and services tax had been made in the instrument.