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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Western Australia
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
CONTENTS
1. Short title 2
2. Commencement 2
3. The Act amended 2
4. Section 33 amended 2
5. Section 97 inserted 2
97. Offshore risk policies exempt from duty 2
6. Part IIIF replaced 4
Part IIIF -- Insurance
Division 1 -- Interpretation in Part IIIF and
connection to the State
92. Terms used in this Part 4
92A. Meaning of general insurance and
connection to the State 6
92B. Additional insurance -- life riders 7
92C. Payment of premiums 8
Division 2 -- Registration of insurers
93. Insurers to be registered 9
93A. Registration of insurers 9
93B. Cancelling registration of insurers 9
Division 3 -- Duty payable by insurers
94. Lodging returns and paying duty 10
94A. Calculating the amount of duty payable on
a return 11
94B. Return period of an insurer 11
Division 4 -- Duty payable by insured persons
95. Meaning of insurer in this Division 11
95A. Insured person to lodge statement and
pay duty 12
95B. Insurer and intermediary to notify
Commissioner of contracts of insurance 12
075--1 page i
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
Contents
Division 5 -- General provisions
96. Apportionment of premiums and
instalments 13
96A. Refunds 14
96B. Records 15
7. Transitional provisions -- offshore risk policies 15
8. Transitional provisions -- Part IIIF 16
page ii
Western Australia
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Stamp Act 1921 and for related purposes.
The Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:
page 1
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 1
1. Short title
This is the Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Act 2005.
2. Commencement
(1) Subject to this section, this Act comes into operation on the day
5 on which it receives the Royal Assent.
(2) Section 5 is deemed to have come into operation on 1 July 1997.
(3) Sections 6 and 8 come into operation on a day fixed by
proclamation.
3. The Act amended
10 The amendments in this Act are to the Stamp Act 1921*.
[* Reprint 15 as at 3 June 2005.]
4. Section 33 amended
Section 33(3)(b)(iv) is amended by deleting "subparagraph (i),
(ii) (iii) or (iiia)" and inserting instead --
15 " subparagraph (i), (ii), (iii) or (iiia) ".
5. Section 97 inserted
After section 96 the following section is inserted in Part IIIF --
"
97. Offshore risk policies exempt from duty
20 (1) In this section --
"offshore risk insurance" means any kind of
insurance that is applicable to --
(a) property outside Australia; or
(b) any liability, loss or damage that arises or is
25 brought about as a result of the occurrence of
an event outside Australia.
page 2
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 5
(2) Duty is not chargeable in respect of the issue or
renewal of a policy of insurance to the extent that the
policy effects offshore risk insurance.
(3) If a policy of insurance effects both offshore risk
5 insurance and other insurance and the proportion of the
total amount paid to the person with whom the policy
is effected (in respect of the issue or renewal) that is
attributable to the offshore risk insurance is not
ascertainable at the time of the issue or renewal, the
10 proportion is the proportion calculated in accordance
with the method of apportionment from time to time
established as a practice of the Commissioner and
published under section 127 of the Taxation
Administration Act 2003.
15 (4) However, if the Commissioner is not satisfied that the
total amount has been appropriately apportioned, the
Commissioner may --
(a) determine the appropriate proportions; and
(b) reassess the amount of duty payable in respect
20 of the issue or renewal accordingly.
(5) Any amount paid or payable to the person with whom
the policy of insurance is effected on account of duty in
respect of the issue or renewal of the policy shall be
disregarded for the purpose of calculating the total
25 amount paid to the person in respect of the issue or
renewal.
".
page 3
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
6. Part IIIF replaced
Part IIIF is repealed and the following Part is inserted instead --
"
Part IIIF -- Insurance
5 Division 1 -- Interpretation in Part IIIF and connection to
the State
92. Terms used in this Part
In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears --
"accident insurance" means insurance for any
10 payment agreed to be made on the death of any
person only from accident or violence or otherwise
than from a natural cause or as compensation for
personal injury;
"contract of insurance" means a contract of insurance
15 that effects general insurance (whether or not it
also effects other kinds of insurance);
"Defence Service Homes Insurance Scheme" has the
meaning given to that term in section 38 of the
Defence Service Homes Act 1918 of the
20 Commonwealth;
"Division 4 insurer" has the meaning given to that
term in section 95;
"financial services licensee" has the meaning given to
that term in section 761A of the Corporations Act;
25 "general insurance" has the meaning given to that
term in section 92A;
"health insurance business" has the meaning given to
that term in section 67 of the National Health
Act 1953 of the Commonwealth;
30 "instalment" means a portion of a premium;
page 4
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
"insurer" means the Insurance Commission of
Western Australia or a person who --
(a) writes general insurance otherwise than as an
intermediary of an insurer (including a
5 Division 4 insurer); and
(b) is either --
(i) authorised under the Insurance Act 1973
of the Commonwealth; or
(ii) registered under the Life Insurance
10 Act 1995 of the Commonwealth;
"intermediary", of an insurer, means --
(a) a representative of the insurer; or
(b) a financial services licensee, who is not
otherwise a representative of the insurer,
15 who arranges or effects insurance for or with
the insurer;
"life insurance" means insurance provided under or in
accordance with a policy of insurance or assurance
on any life or lives or on any event or contingency
20 relating to or depending on any life or lives, other
than a policy of accident insurance;
"offshore risk insurance" means any kind of
insurance that is applicable to --
(a) property outside Australia; or
25 (b) any liability, loss or damage that arises or is
brought about as a result of the occurrence of
an event outside Australia;
"premium" means the total consideration paid to an
insurer (including a Division 4 insurer) by or on
30 behalf of an insured person to effect insurance,
without deductions for any amounts paid or
payable, or allowed or allowable, by way of
page 5
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
commission or discount to an intermediary of the
insurer, but does not include --
(a) an amount paid to an intermediary of the
insurer by the insured person as a fee if the
5 amount can be clearly identified as a fee; or
(b) an amount paid on account of duty under this
Part or interstate duty;
"registered insurer" means an insurer who is
registered under section 93A;
10 "registered organisation" has the meaning given to
that term in section 4 of the National Health
Act 1953 of the Commonwealth;
"reinsurance" means the indemnification of one party
by another against liability or payment arising
15 under a contract or contracts of insurance or
reinsurance;
"representative" has the meaning given to that term in
section 910A of the Corporations Act;
"return period", of a registered insurer, has the
20 meaning given in section 94B.
92A. Meaning of general insurance and connection to
the State
(1) "General insurance" means any kind of insurance that
is applicable to --
25 (a) property in Western Australia; or
(b) a risk, contingency or event concerning an act
or omission that, in the normal course of
events, may occur within, or partly within,
Western Australia,
30 or both.
page 6
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
(2) General insurance does not include any of the
following --
(a) life insurance;
(b) insurance against an employer's liability to pay
5 compensation under the Workers'
Compensation and Injury Management
Act 1981;
(c) reinsurance;
(d) insurance in respect of goods in the course of
10 being transported, whether by rail, road, air or
sea, and whether within Western Australia or
elsewhere;
(e) insurance in respect of a marine hull used
primarily for commercial purposes;
15 (f) insurance effected by an exempt body (as
defined in section 119);
(g) insurance issued by a registered organisation in
the course of its health insurance business;
(h) insurance under the Defence Service Homes
20 Insurance Scheme;
(i) offshore risk insurance;
(j) insurance of a class prescribed by the
regulations.
92B. Additional insurance -- life riders
25 (1) This section does not apply to a policy of life insurance
unless the insured person's place of residence is in
Western Australia.
(2) If --
(a) a policy of life insurance, in addition to
30 providing the insurance referred to in the
definition of "life insurance" in section 92, also
provides for the payment of a benefit on the
page 7
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
happening of a contingency or event that does
not relate to or depend on a life or lives (the
"additional insurance"); and
(b) an identifiable part of the premium payable in
5 respect of the policy is attributable to the
additional insurance,
then the additional insurance provided under or in
accordance with the policy is to be taken to be general
insurance and not life insurance.
10 (3) Subsection (2) applies --
(a) whether or not the life insurance and the
additional insurance are distinct matters for the
purposes of section 19; and
(b) whether or not payment of a benefit under the
15 additional insurance component of the
policy --
(i) will or may reduce the benefit payable
under the life insurance component of
the policy; or
20 (ii) will or may terminate the policy.
92C. Payment of premiums
(1) For the purposes of this Part, a premium, or an
instalment, is paid when the first of the following
events occurs --
25 (a) the premium or instalment is received by the
insurer; or
(b) an account of the insurer is credited with the
amount of the premium or instalment.
(2) A premium, or an instalment (apart from the case
30 where the premium or instalment is received directly
by an insurer) is taken to have been received by an
page 8
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
insurer if it is received by another person on the
insurer's behalf.
(3) In this section, a reference to an insurer includes a
reference to a Division 4 insurer.
5 Division 2 -- Registration of insurers
93. Insurers to be registered
(1) On becoming an insurer, the insurer must apply to be
registered under section 93A.
(2) An application for registration must be made in an
10 approved form on or before the 21st day after the end of
the month in which the insurer became an insurer.
Penalty: $20 000.
93A. Registration of insurers
(1) The Commissioner must register an insurer that applies
15 for registration.
(2) The Commissioner must register an insurer that has not
applied for registration if satisfied that the insurer
ought to be registered for the purposes of this Part.
(3) The Commissioner must give notice to an insurer of its
20 registration.
93B. Cancelling registration of insurers
(1) The Commissioner may cancel the registration of an
insurer on his or her own initiative or at the request of
the insurer.
25 (2) The Commissioner is not to cancel an insurer's
registration unless satisfied that registration of the
insurer is no longer necessary for the purposes of this
Part.
page 9
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
(3) A cancellation has effect on and from the day specified
in the notice of cancellation of registration, which may
be a day that is earlier than the day on which the notice
is issued.
5 Division 3 -- Duty payable by insurers
94. Lodging returns and paying duty
(1) A registered insurer must --
(a) lodge a return in an approved form for each
return period of the insurer; and
10 (b) pay the duty payable on the return (if any),
on or before the 21st day after the end of the return
period.
Penalty: $5 000.
(2) The insurer must lodge the return even if no duty is
15 payable on the return.
(3) On becoming an insurer, the insurer must, for the
month in which the insurer became an insurer and for
each subsequent month until the month in which the
insurer becomes a registered insurer or ceases to be an
20 insurer --
(a) lodge a return in an approved form for the
month; and
(b) pay the duty payable on the return (if any),
on or before the 21st day after the end of the month.
25 Penalty: $5 000.
(4) The month referred to in subsection (3) is to be treated
as a return period for the purposes of this Part.
page 10
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
94A. Calculating the amount of duty payable on a return
(1) The amount of duty payable on the return for a return
period is 10% of the assessable amount.
(2) The assessable amount for a return period of an insurer
5 is the sum of each premium or instalment (to the extent
to which the premium or instalment is attributable to
general insurance) paid to the insurer in the return
period in respect of contracts of insurance entered into
by or on behalf of the insurer.
10 (3) Section 96 has an effect on the extent to which the
premium or instalment is attributable to general
insurance.
94B. Return period of an insurer
The return period of a registered insurer is --
15 (a) one month, if a special tax return arrangement
is not in force; or
(b) the return period provided in a special tax
return arrangement in force under section 49 of
the Taxation Administration Act 2003.
20 Division 4 -- Duty payable by insured persons
95. Meaning of insurer in this Division
In this Division --
"Division 4 insurer" means a person, other than the
Insurance Commission of Western Australia, who
25 writes general insurance, otherwise than as an
intermediary of an insurer (including a Division 4
insurer), but who is not authorised under the
Insurance Act 1973 of the Commonwealth and not
registered under the Life Insurance Act 1995 of the
30 Commonwealth.
page 11
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
95A. Insured person to lodge statement and pay duty
(1) If a person obtains, effects or renews general insurance
with a Division 4 insurer, the person must --
(a) lodge a statement in an approved form; and
5 (b) pay the duty payable on the statement,
on or before the 21st day after the end of the month, or
each month, in which the person paid the premium or
an instalment for the insurance.
Penalty: $5 000.
10 (2) The amount of duty payable on the statement is 10% of
the proportion of the premium or instalment that is
attributable to general insurance.
(3) Section 96 has an effect on the proportion of the
premium or instalment that is attributable to general
15 insurance.
(4) This section does not require a separate statement to be
prepared if the document evidencing the insurance
contains all the information required in a statement, in
which case, the document is taken to be the statement.
20 95B. Insurer and intermediary to notify Commissioner of
contracts of insurance
(1) A Division 4 insurer must, for each month in which the
insurer is paid a premium or an instalment in respect of
a contract of insurance entered into by or on behalf of
25 the insurer, notify the Commissioner in the approved
form, of --
(a) each such contract of insurance for which the
insurer has been paid a premium or instalment
in that month; and
30 (b) the amounts of those premiums or instalments,
on or before the 21st day after the end of the month.
Penalty: $5 000.
page 12
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
(2) An intermediary of a Division 4 insurer must, for each
month in which the intermediary receives a premium or
an instalment in respect of a contract of insurance for a
Division 4 insurer, notify the Commissioner in the
5 approved form, of --
(a) each contract of insurance for which the
intermediary has received a premium or
instalment for a Division 4 insurer; and
(b) the amounts of those premiums or instalments,
10 on or before the 21st day after the end of the month.
Penalty: $5 000.
(3) If a person complies with a requirement in
subsection (1) or (2) in respect of a contract of
insurance then the requirement in the other subsection
15 is to be taken to have been complied with.
Division 5 -- General provisions
96. Apportionment of premiums and instalments
(1) This section applies to a contract of insurance that
effects both general insurance and other insurance.
20 (2) If the proportion of the premium that is attributable to
general insurance is not ascertainable at the time the
contract is entered into, the proportion is the proportion
calculated in accordance with the applicable method of
apportionment from time to time established as a
25 practice of the Commissioner and published under
section 127 of the Taxation Administration Act 2003.
(3) A method of apportionment published under
section 127 of the Taxation Administration Act 2003
may, for a particular class of contracts of insurance,
30 have the effect that the proportion of the premium that
is attributable to general insurance is zero.
page 13
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 6
(4) If the Commissioner is satisfied that a premium or
instalment has not been, or cannot be, appropriately
apportioned under this section, the Commissioner
may --
5 (a) determine the appropriate proportions; and
(b) if necessary -- reassess the amount of duty
payable in respect of the contract of insurance.
(5) The extent to which an instalment is attributable to
general insurance is the same as the extent to which the
10 premium is attributable to general insurance under this
section.
96A. Refunds
(1) If --
(a) an insurer has paid duty in respect of a contract
15 of insurance in accordance with section 94A;
and
(b) the insurer has refunded some or all of the
premium for the contract,
the insurer is entitled to a refund of the duty paid to the
20 extent to which the premium was refunded.
(2) If --
(a) a person has paid duty in respect of a contract
of insurance in accordance with section 95A(2);
and
25 (b) the Division 4 insurer has refunded some or all
of the premium for the contract,
the person is entitled to a refund of the duty paid to the
extent to which the premium was refunded.
(3) For the purposes of this section, an insurer (including a
30 Division 4 insurer) refunds an amount of a premium if
the insurer or an intermediary of the insurer --
(a) repays the amount to the insured person; or
page 14
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 7
(b) otherwise provides a benefit to the insured
person to the value of the amount refunded.
96B. Records
(1) An insurer and a person who is liable to pay duty under
5 Division 4 must keep --
(a) the records that are prescribed in the regulations
for the purposes of this section (if any); and
(b) any other records necessary to enable the
Commissioner to determine the insurer's or the
10 person's liability to pay duty under this Part.
Penalty: $20 000.
(2) A person who is required to notify the Commissioner
under section 95B (disregarding the effect of
section 95B(3)) must keep the records necessary to
15 enable the Commissioner to verify the information in
the notice.
Penalty: $20 000.
".
7. Transitional provisions -- offshore risk policies
20 (1) This section applies to the issue or renewal of a policy of
insurance that effects offshore risk insurance, or both offshore
risk insurance and other insurance, where the issue or renewal
was effected on or after 1 July 1997 but before this Act received
the Royal Assent.
25 (2) If the issue or renewal of the policy was effected before the
commencement of the Taxation Administration Act 2003, that
Act applies to a reassessment as if the issue or renewal had been
effected after the commencement of that Act.
(3) Despite section 17 of the Taxation Administration Act 2003, the
30 Commissioner may make a reassessment even if the respective
original assessment was made more than 5 years before the
reassessment.
page 15
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 8
(4) However, a person is not entitled to apply for a reassessment
more than 12 months after the day on which this Act receives
the Royal Assent.
(5) Where the policy of insurance effects both offshore risk
5 insurance and other insurance then, despite section 35 of the
Taxation Administration (Consequential Provisions) Act 2002,
the Commissioner may make a reassessment even if the
reassessment increases the amount of duty that a person is liable
to pay in relation to the issue or renewal of the policy to the
10 extent that it effects insurance other than offshore risk
insurance.
(6) In this section --
"duty" means duty payable under the Stamp Act 1921;
"offshore risk insurance" has the meaning given to that term
15 in section 97 of the Stamp Act 1921 as inserted by section 5
of this Act;
"original assessment" has the meaning given to that term in the
Taxation Administration Act 2003;
"policy of insurance" has the meaning given to that term in
20 Part IIIF of the Stamp Act 1921 as in force immediately
before this Act received the Royal Assent;
"reassessment" means a reassessment as defined in the
Taxation Administration Act 2003, being a reassessment of
the amount of duty chargeable in respect of the issue or
25 renewal of a policy of insurance to which this section
applies.
8. Transitional provisions -- Part IIIF
(1) An expression used in this section that is given a meaning in the
Stamp Act 1921 (including old Part IIIF and new Part IIIF) has
30 the meaning so given unless the contrary intention appears.
(2) New Part IIIF does not apply to or in respect of premiums or
instalments paid to an insurer after commencement in respect of
page 16
Stamp Amendment (Assessment) Bill 2005
s. 8
which duty, under old Part IIIF, became payable before
commencement.
(3) A person who was an insurer (as defined in new Part IIIF)
immediately before commencement is to be taken to have
5 become an insurer on commencement for the purposes of new
Part IIIF.
(4) In this section --
"commencement" means the time at which section 6 of this
Act comes into operation;
10 "new Part IIIF" means Part IIIF of the Stamp Act 1921 as in
force after commencement and, for the purposes of this
section, is to be taken to include item 16 of the Second
Schedule of the Stamp Act 1921 as in force after
commencement;
15 "old Part IIIF" means Part IIIF of the Stamp Act 1921 as in
force immediately before commencement and, for the
purposes of this section, is to be taken to include item 16 of
the Second Schedule and item 8 of the Third Schedule of
the Stamp Act 1921, as in force immediately before
20 commencement.
page 17
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