Taking the stamps out of stamp duty

Tuesday 02 October 2018

Stamp duty has finally gone stampless.

States officials announced the digitisation of the process yesterday, with law firms now able to pay the duty on behalf of clients online – no physical stamps needed.

The process had already been in motion, and appears to have been well-received so far, with more than 350 forms having been completed online in August alone.

Together, they totalled more than £1.5million going directly to the States Treasury.

The changes came following an update to the Stamp Duties Law in July.

It previously stipulated that the payment of stamp duty – payable on transactions or borrowings relating to immoveable property – and judicial fees had to be completed using physical stamps sold by the Treasurer of the States under the control of the Treasury Minister, with those stamps required to be affixed to the document in question.

But the former Treasury Minister concluded in January this year that the decades-old law needed a stamp-free modern day update.

Pictured: Stamp duty is payable on immoveable property transactions.

“In an increasingly digital world the requirement to visit Treasury Cashiers to purchase a physical stamp for affixing to a document looks increasingly outdated. There has also been a call from Advocates in private practice for a more efficient mechanism for the payment of stamp duties,” the Minister commented. 

“There is a need to listen to the voice of our customers and to modernise the payment process for stamp duty. The Treasury have been working collaboratively with the judicial departments and Law Draftsman’s Office to bring forward amendments to the Stamp Duties and Fees (Jersey) Law 1998 that supports Public Sector Reform and e-government initiatives and will enable digital methods of payment to be developed.” 

The move is expected to pave the way for further digitisation of payments, including an online service for small-value stamp duty payments for court activities including grants of probate in future.