For stamp duty assessment, depending on the type of transaction, relevant documents should be submitted to the Inland Revenue Department. Stamping can be conducted electronically or manually.
Stamping of Agreements and Assignments of Sale and Purchase cases
Stamping of Agreements and Assignments of sale and purchase cases can be conducted with or without presenting the original instrument.
The former method can be adopted manually to the Stamp Office or electronically for the Initial Stamping of Agreement or Assignment and the Subsequent Agreement or Assignment. However, electronic submissions for stamping other property transfer instruments are not applicable and should be conducted with conventional stamping procedures. To obtain an imprint of a conventional stamp on the original instrument, the stamping request should be submitted to the Stamp Office Counter.
The stamped instrument will be ready for collection in 5 working days. An instrument is properly stamped with a stamp certificate issued.
Please find the details regarding the required documents in the Appendix of this document.
Stamping of Tenancy Agreement
Lease, agreement for lease and any other document of similar effect (i.e. tenancy agreement) are chargeable with stamp duty. A tenancy agreement has to be stamped within 30 days from the date of execution, regardless of the commencement date of the agreement.
Stamping can be conducted electronically, by post or in person at the Stamp Office. The original tenancy agreement should be presented if stamping is conducted electronically or in person at the Stamp Office. The calculation of stamp duty on tenancy agreements depends on the length of the tenancy term. A tenancy agreement is properly stamped with a stamp certificate issued or a conventional stamp stamped.
Stamping of Share Transfer
Contract notes and instruments of share transfer can be stamped electronically, by post or in person at the Stamp Office.
Contract notes are stamped by reference to the price paid. If it is below the market value of the shares, stamp duty will be assessed based on the market value of the shares as at the date of sale and purchase or transfer of the shares. Contract notes are not required in the case of transferring shares as a gift.
Some of the documents required are:
- Bought and Sold Notes / Contract Notes
- Sale and Purchase agreement (if any)
- Articles of Association of the company
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Latest audited financial statements of the company (if consolidated accounts are not prepared)
- Latest certified management accounts of the company (if consolidated accounts are not prepared or they are not up to date.
Click here for the complete list of documents required for stamp duty assessment.
Late stamping would be accepted with a penalty. If the delay does not exceed 1 month, the penalty is double the amount of stamp duty. If the delay exceeds 1 month but does not exceed 2 months, the penalty is up to 4 times the amount of stamp duty. In any other case, the penalty is up to 10 times the amount of stamp duty.
References:
- Stamping Procedures and Explanatory Notes for stamping of Agreements and Assignments: https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/irsd120.pdf
- Stamping Procedures and Explanatory Notes for stamping of Tenancy Agreements: https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/sdo/irsd119.pdf
- Stamping Procedures and Explanatory Notes for stamping of share transfer: https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/sog_pn04a.pdf