Reassessments

We may reassess duty on a cancelled contract or transfer if the following conditions are met.

An agreement is a resale agreement if any of the property is or will be transferred, and the transferee or a related person will receive a financial benefit as a result of the cancelled agreement (or transfer) other than to release the transferee from their obligation under the original agreement.

To apply for a reassessment or refund, send us:

• the original cancelled document
• a letter asking for reassessment to be made
• a completed Statutory declaration—cancellation of agreement (for agreements ended with the consent of the parties only)
• a completed Form 2.8—Application for reassessment—cancelled transfer of dutiable property (for cancelled transfers only).

You must do this within 6 months after the document is cancelled.

See sections 115 and 156A of the Duties Act for more information.

We may reassess duty if one of the following events occurs.

• The document
  • is inadvertently damaged or destroyed before having legal effect
  • is rendered unfit for its intended purpose because of an error or mistake in it before having legal effect
  • is void on its making
  • has no legal effect, but on having legal effect would have an unintended effect (because of a mistake in it) that would result in duty being imposed.
• For a transfer—the transferor is not and does not have a right to become the owner of the property detailed in the document.
• For a gift—the gift is not accepted by the donee.

To apply for a reassessment or refund, send us:

• the original document
• a completed Form 16.1—Application for reassessment—particular circumstances (PDF 275 K). 

You must apply within 1 year after one of the events outlined above happens.

See section 499 of the Duties Act for more information, including the meaning of unintended and legal effects.

We understand that the original instruments or written statements may not be available for re-lodgement (e.g. they have been lost or already lodged with the Register for Titles). In these situations, we will accept alternative documentation, provided it enables us to make a reassessment.

Alternative documentation includes a:

• copy of the document showing the stamping details
• statutory declaration outlining the
  • reason why the original cannot be lodged
  • full facts and circumstances of the transaction
  • parties to the transaction
  • value of the transaction liable for duty (i.e. either the unencumbered value of the property or the consideration for the transaction)
  • amount of duty paid
  • lodgement/stamping reference or client number and lodgement/assessment number (whichever the case may be)—if the assessment was made by the Commissioner
  • self assessor’s reference number or client number (as the case may be) and the transaction number—if the assessment was made by a self assessor.