Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 section 31B

Licence agreements

Section 31B charges stamp duty on certain licence agreements under which a person is permitted to enter land in the State to carry out development, where payments to the landholder reach 25 per cent or more of the market value of the land.

• Where a landholder grants a licence allowing another person to enter land to carry out development, and the landholder receives payments (other than as consideration for the sale of the land) amounting to 25 per cent or more of the land's market value, the agreement is chargeable to stamp duty as if it were a conveyance of the estate or interest in the land.
• Development means the construction, demolition, extension, alteration or reconstruction of any building on the land, or any engineering or other operation to adapt the land for a materially altered use.
• The stamp duty must be paid by the developer within 30 days of the payments first reaching the 25 per cent threshold, and the agreement is deemed to be executed on that date.
• If the agreement is subsequently rescinded or annulled, any stamp duty paid is repayable by Revenue, subject to the four-year time limit for repayment claims under section 159A.