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Transfer Duty Act, 1949 (Act No. 40 of 1949

9. Exemptions from duty

 

(1) No duty shall be payable in respect of the acquisition of property by—
(a) the Government and a provincial administration;

[Section 9(1)(a) substituted by section 36(6) of Act No. 9 of 1989]

(b) any "municipality" as defined in section 1 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962);

[Section 9(1)(b) substituted by section 1(a) of Act No. 20 of 2006]

(bA) [Section 9(1)(bA) deleted by section 3(1)(a) of Act No. 30 of 2000];
(bB) any "water services provider" as defined in section 1 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962);

[Section 9(1)(bB) substituted by section 1(b) of Act No. 20 of 2006]

(bC) [Section 9(1)(bC) deleted by section 6(2) of Act No. 120 of 1992]
(c)
(i) a public benefit organisation contemplated in paragraph (a) of the definition of "public benefit organisation" in section 30(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962), that has been approved by the Commissioner in terms of section 30(3) of that Act; or

[Section 9(1)(c)(i) substituted by section 1(c) of Act No. 20 of 2006]

(ii) any institution, board or body, which is exempt from tax in terms of section 10(1)(cA)(i) of that Act, which has as its sole or principal object the carrying on of any public benefit activity contemplated in section 30 of that Act,

in respect of property acquired by such public benefit organisation, institution, board or body, the whole, or substantially the whole, of which will be used for the purposes of one or more public benefit activity carried on by such public benefit organisation, institution, board or body, as the case may be: Provided that if at any time subsequent to the acquisition thereof it is used otherwise than in the manner contemplated in this paragraph, duty shall become payable in respect of the acquisition of that property and the date upon which that property was first so otherwise used shall for the purposes of section 3(1) and section 4 be deemed to be the date of acquisition thereof;

[Section 9(1)(c) substituted by section 2(a) of Act No. 32 of 2004]

(d) any institution or body in respect of property acquired for the purpose of a public hospital, subject mutatis mutandis to the proviso to paragraph (c);
(e) an heir or legatee in respect of—
(i) property of the deceased acquired by ab intestato or testamentary succession or as a result of a re-distribution of the assets of a deceased estate in the process of liquidation; or

[Section 9(1)(e)(i) substituted by section (1)(a) of Act No. 69 of 1989]

(ii) the amount by which the value of property so acquired is enhanced by the renunciation of an interest in or restriction upon the use or disposal of such property;
(f) [Section 9(1)(f) deleted by section 16(a) of Act No. 9 of 2006]
(g) a joint owner of property in respect of the acquisition and registration in his name of a defined portion of the property allotted to him upon partition of the property, but not in respect of any consideration payable by him in order to equalize the partition or for any other reason;
(h) a joint owner of property who acquires the sole ownership in the whole or a portion of the property, in respect of so much of the value of the property in which sole ownership is acquired as represents his share in the joint ownership of that property;
(i) a surviving or divorced spouse who acquires the sole ownership in the whole or any portion of property registered in the name of his or her deceased or divorced spouse where that property or portion is transferred to that surviving or divorced spouse as a result of the death of his or her spouse or dissolution of their marriage or union;

[Section 9(1)(i) substituted by section 16(b) of Act No. 9 of 2006]

(j) [Section 9(1)(j) deleted by section 3(1)(c) of Act No. 30 of 2000]
(k) a spouse in a marriage in community of property in respect of the acquisition of an undivided half-share in property by operation of law by virtue of the contraction of such marriage, if such property had been acquired by the other spouse prior to the date of contraction of the marriage.

[Section 9(1)(k) inserted by section 1(1)(b) of Act No. 69 of 1989]

(l) any company in terms of—
(i) an asset-for-share transaction as defined in section 42 of the income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962);
(iA) a substitutive share-for-share transaction as defined in section 43 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962);
(iB) an amalgamation transaction as defined in section 44 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962);
(ii) an intra-group transaction as defined in section 45 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962);
(iii) a liquidation distribution as defined in section 47 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962); or
(iv) a transaction which would have constituted a transaction or distribution contemplated in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) regardless of whether that company acquired that property as a capital asset or as trading stock,

[Section 9(1)(l)(iv) substituted by section 1 of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2021 (Act No. 20 of 2021), Notice No. 770, GG 45787, dated 19 January 2022]

where the public officer of that company has made a sworn affidavit or solemn declaration that such acquisition of property complies with the provisions of this paragraph;

 

(m) any person in respect of the transfer of a property from a superannuation fund created and operated mainly for employees of the former TBVC and self-governing territories and other similar funds into the Government Employees' Pension Fund;

[Section 9(1)(m) inserted by section 2(1)(a) of Act No. 31 of 2005]

(n) any person to whom the Minister of Land Affairs has made available state land administered or controlled by him or her in terms of the Provision of Land and Assistance Act, 1993 (Act No. 126 of 1993), or section 42E of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act No. 22 of 1994);

[Section 9(1)(n) inserted by section 1 of Act No. 60 of 2008]

(o) any person in respect of so much of the value of the property as does not exceed an amount equal to any advance or subsidy granted to that person in terms of the Provision of Land and Assistance Act, 1993 (Act No. 126 of 1993), for the purposes of that acquisition.

 

(1A) No duty shall be payable in respect of the registration of any property transferred by any public benefit organisation contemplated in paragraph (a) of the definition of "public benefit organisation" in section 30(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962), that has been approved by the Commissioner in terms of section 30(3) of that Act to any other entity which is controlled by that public benefit organisation;

[Section 9(1A) substituted by section 1(d) of Act No. 20 of 2006]

 

(2) No duty shall be payable by a person who requires his ownership in property to be registered in his name in a deeds registry under any of the following circumstances—
(i) where there has been an error in the registration of the acquisition of the property, provided the duty payable in respect of that acquisition has been duly paid;
(ii) [Section 9(2)(ii) deleted by section 2(b) of Act No. 32 of 2004]

 

(3) No duty shall be payable in respect of the registration jointly in the names of partners of any property which is registered in the name of the partnership carried on by such partners.

 

(4) No duty shall be payable—
(a) in respect of a change in the registration of property required as a result of the termination of the appointment of an administrator of a trust under a will or other written instrument or of a trustee of an insolvent estate; or
(b) where trust property is transferred by the administrator of a trust in pursuance of the will or other written instrument in pursuance of which the administrator was appointed—
(i) to the persons entitled thereto under such will; or
(ii) to a relative as contemplated in the definition of "relative" in section 1 of the Estate Duty Act, 1955 (Act No. 45 of 1955), where the trust was founded in terms of such other written instrument by a natural person for the benefit of such relative: Provided that no consideration is paid directly or indirectly by such relative in respect of the acquisition of such trust property; or

[Section 9(4)(b) substituted by section 4(1)(d) of Act No. 87 of 1988]

(c) where property is restored by a trustee of an insolvent estate to the insolvent; or

[Section 9(4)(c) substituted by section 4(1)(e) of Act No. 87 of 1988]

(d) in respect of the registration of trust property in the name of a trustee in his capacity as trustee if such trust property is held by such trustee as trust property at the date of commencement of the Trust Property Control Act, 1988, and such registration is required in terms of section 11(2) of the said Act.

[Section 9(4)(d) inserted by section 4(1)(f) of Act No. 87 of 1988]

 

(5) [Section 9(5) deleted by section 4(b) of Act No. 136 of 1992]

 

(6)
(a) No duty shall be payable by a person who, as surety for the payment of the consideration payable under a transaction, pays the consideration and seeks transfer of the property in question into his own name, provided—
(i) the duty has been paid in respect of the acquisition of the property under the transaction; and
(ii) no further consideration is payable by the surety to either party to the transaction.
(b) If further consideration is payable by a surety referred to in paragraph (a) to either party to the transaction, duty shall be payable by him on the value of that further consideration.

 

(7) No duty shall be payable in respect of the acquisition of property by way of a transaction, if the transaction—
(a) is declared void by a competent court;
(b) in terms of which the property is acquired from a person whose estate is sequestrated subsequent to the date of the transaction, becomes void by reason of the sequestration;
(c) in terms of which property is acquired by a person whose estate is sequestrated prior to the registration of the acquisition by him of the property, is abandoned by the trustee of his insolvent estate;
(d) is a transaction whereby portions of adjoining properties which are being worked or about to be worked for minerals and are held under claim licence, mynpacht or other mining title, are exchanged, provided the Government Mining Engineer issues a certificate stating that the exchange is made solely and bona fide for mining purposes and is necessary or instrumental to proper or more economic working: Provided that if any additional consideration is payable by either party to the exchange, duty shall be payable on the value of the additional consideration.

 

(8) No duty shall be payable in respect of the acquisition on or after the sixteenth day of March, 1964, of property by any company (hereinafter referred to as the subsidiary company) which has been incorporated, and is managed and controlled, in the Republic from any other company (hereinafter referred to as the foreign company) which has been incorporated, and is managed and controlled, outside the Republic if it is proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioner—
(a) that at the time of such acquisition all the issued shares of the subsidiary company were held for its own benefit by the foreign company or a company which was incorporated, managed and controlled outside the Republic and was controlled by or controlled the foreign company; and
(b) that the subsidiary company has under an arrangement with the foreign company acquired from the foreign company all the assets, including the said property, relating to any industrial or commercial or other business undertaking of the foreign company in the Republic.

[Section 9(8) substituted by section 5 of Act No. 88 of 1974]

 

(9) If any property has by expropriation or compulsory sale under any law been acquired by the State (including the South African Transport Services and a provincial administration) or any rural council, municipal council, town council, village council, town board, local board, village management board, health committee or any district council or any board, body or institution of a public character established by law, and such property is, upon the cancellation or variation on or after 1 January 1964, of such expropriation or sale, re-acquired by the person from whom such property was expropriated or by whom such property was sold under such sale, no duty shall be payable in respect of such re-acquisition.

[Section 9(9) substituted by section 5(1)(b) of Act No. 97 of 1993]

 

(10) [Section 9(10) deleted by section 4(1)(i) of Act No. 87 of 1988]

 

(11) [Section 9(11) deleted by section 3(1)(b) of Act No. 30 of 2002]

 

(12) [Section 9(12) deleted by section 3(1)(b) of Act No. 30 of 2002]

 

(12A) [Section 9(12A) deleted by section 3(1)(b) of Act No. 30 of 2002]

 

(12B) [Section 9(12B) deleted by section 3(1)(b) of Act No. 30 of 2002]

 

(12C) [Section 9(12C) deleted by section 3(1)(b) of Act No. 30 of 2002]

 

(13) [Section 9(13) deleted by section 3(1)(e) of Act No. 30 of 2000]

 

(14) [Section 9(14) deleted by section 3(1)(f) of Act No. 30 of 2000]

 

(15) No duty shall be payable In respect of the acquisition of any property under any transaction which for purposes of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991, is a taxable supply of goods to the person acquiring such property if—
(a) the transferor of the property under such transaction, in a declaration in such form as the Commissioner may prescribe, certifies that value-added tax payable under the said Act has been paid to him in respect of the said supply by the transferee and has been accounted for by him in a relevant return required to be furnished by him under the said Act or will be so accounted for in such return within the time allowed under that Act for the rendering of such return, or where such supply was subject to the said tax at the rate of zero per cent, such information regarding such supply as the Commissioner may require has been furnished to him;
(b) any security required by the Commissioner for the payment of such tax has been lodged, if such tax has not yet been paid; and
(c) the Commissioner has issued a certificate to the effect that the requirements of this subsection for the granting of the exemption have been met.

[Section 9(15) inserted by section 79 of Act No. 89 of 1991]

 

(15A) No duty shall be payable in respect of the acquisition of any property under an asset-for-share transaction as contemplated in section 42 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962), where—

[Words preceding section 9(15A)(a) substituted by section 2(1)(a) of Act No. 35 of 2007]

(a) the supplier and recipient of that property are deemed to be one and the same person in terms of section 8(25) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991; and
(b) the public officer of the company as contemplated in section 101 of the Income Tax Act, 1962, has made a sworn affidavit or solemn declaration that such acquisition of property complies with the provisions of paragraph (a).

[Section 9(15A) inserted by section 2(1)(b) of Act No. 31 of 2005]

 

(15B) No duty shall be payable in respect of the acquisition of property operated and managed by a person on behalf of a rental pool scheme as contemplated in section 52(2) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991, where the person acquiring that property elects in writing that that property must continue to be operated and managed by that person on behalf of a rental pool scheme.

[Section 9(15B) inserted by section 2(1)(b) of Act No. 35 of 2007]

 

(16) [Section 9(16) deleted by section 2(1)(c) of Act No. 31 of 2005]

 

(17) [Section 9(17) deleted by section 2(1)(c) of Act No. 31 of 2005]

 

(18) No duty shall be payable where—
(a) any old order right or OP26 right as defined in Schedule 11 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002), wholly or partially continues in force or is wholly or partially converted into a new right pursuant to that Schedule; or
(b) any prospecting right, mining right, exploration right, production right, mining permit, retention permit or reconnaissance permit as defined in section 1 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002, or any reconnaissance permission contemplated in section 14 of that Act, is granted or is wholly or partially renewed in terms of that Act.

[Section 9(18)(b) substituted by section 2 of Act No. 16 of 2004]

[Section 9(18) inserted by section 3(1)(b) of Act No. 45 of 2003]

 

(19) No duty shall be payable by a person—
(a) in respect of any transaction contemplated in Item 8 of Schedule 1 to the Share Blocks Control Act, 1980 (Act No. 59 of 1980), in terms of which any right to or interest in the use of immovable property conferred by reason of the ownership of a share held by that person in a share block company as defined in section 1 of that Act is converted to ownership by that person of that immovable property; or
(b) in respect of the acquisition by that person of a part of the immovable property of a share block company as defined in section 1 of the Share Blocks Control Act, 1980 (Act No. 59 of 1980), where that person had a right of use of that part, which right was conferred by reason of the ownership of a share held by that person in that share block company.

[Section 9(19) substituted by section 1 of Act No. 22 of 2012]

 

(20) No duty shall be payable in respect of any acquisition of any interest in a residence as contemplated in paragraph 51 or 51A of the Eighth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962), where that acquisition takes place as a result of a transfer or disposal contemplated in either of those paragraphs.

[Section 9(20) substituted by section 3(1)(b) of Act No. 7 of 2010]